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Second Harvest Distributes 9M Pounds of Food in 2013
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- For the third consecutive year, Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley distributed more than 9 million pounds of food in 2013; 9.2 million pounds to be exact. The number of hungry people throughout Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties continued to increase last year as Second Harvest’s 153 member agencies fed an average of more than 15,000 people each week.
“To meet the growing need for food assistance, Second Harvest Food Bank’s staff and numerous volunteers work to make sure hungry seniors, families and children in our Valley have the food they need to live healthy and productive lives,” said the executive director of Second Harvest Food, Mike Iberis. “We believe that no one should go hungry, and we are dedicated to building a community that makes food accessible to all people.”
Second Harvest solicits, stores and distributes food to hunger-relief organizations. It is a storehouse for large quantities of donated food and USDA commodities that are distributed to 153 hunger-relief organizations in the three-county service area. Member agencies include church pantries, homeless shelters and soup kitchens, shelters for battered women and after-school programs.
“Unfortunately, hunger levels in the Mahoning Valley continue to worsen,” Iberis said. “The percentage of hungry people in the Mahoning Valley is significantly higher than state and national levels. We’re banking on the continued support of the community to continue to fight the battle against hunger.”
In 2013, Second Harvest continued expansion of key programs to help feed hungry people in the Mahoning Valley, including the BackPack Program and the Mobile Pantry Program. The Backpack Program provides a backpack full of food to students, who might not otherwise eat during the weekend. The Mobile Pantry Program assists people in the outlying areas of the Mahoning Valley, who might not have other resources to secure food.
“Quite simply, families are able to put meals on their tables and seniors are eating fresh fruits and vegetables — all of which would not be possible without the tremendous support we receive from the individuals, organizations and companies in the Mahoning Valley,” Iberis said. “These friends of the Food Bank give so much so that others get the help they so desperately need. They’re doing something that makes a real difference.”
Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley was established in the early 1980s when a group of lay and religious community leaders realized that while people were going hungry, companies were throwing away unused, but still nutritious, edible food. An effort was started to get these companies to donate food to one central location in order to ease distribution to the many local charities already engaged in the fight against hunger. The Food Assistance Warehouse was incorporated as a 501(c)3 charitable organization in December 1982 and began operating as a clearinghouse for large quantities of food.
In 1994, the Food Bank became a certified member of Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization. As a member of Feeding America, it is the designated recipient of national food donors and retailers, including Target, Bottom Dollar and Walmart. Additionally, the Food Bank works to procure food donations from local companies like Giant Eagle and Sparkle Markets, as well as through food drives and campaigns like Harvest for Hunger.
SOURCE: Second Harvest Food Bank
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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