The Food Bank

Volunteers Honor National Day of Service

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:22:26 +0000

In 1994, Congress designated MLK day as a national day of service. Taking place on the third Monday in January, the MLK Day of Service is the only federal holiday observed as a national day of service – a “day on, not a day off.”

Fifteen members from the Notre Dame AmeriCorps volunteered at Second Harvest on MLK Day this year to pack mixed produce bags and food drive donations for distribution.

AmeriCorps is a federally-funded service program, commonly referred to as the domestic Peace Corps, that brings together people of diverse backgrounds to serve communities in the areas of education, public safety, human needs and the environment.

This is the second year the group from Americorps has participated in the National Day of Service at Second Harvest. They also volunteer for other projects and special events during the year.

Thirty members of the Soquel High School Key Club were also at the warehouse that day. They packed 2,400 USDA commodity bags, which will provide 18,750 meals. We’d like to thank the Soquel High Key Club for their support year after year, both in collecting food and funds for the Holiday Food Drive and for the hours they have put in over the years sorting and packing food.

Thanks to all these great young people for embracing the spirit of MLK day with their continued commitment to helping the less fortunate in our community all year long.

Vegetable Bread Pudding

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:44:32 +0000

2 cups corn

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 jalapeño pepper, chopped

2 whole eggs

2 egg whites

1 1/2 cups skim milk

1 cup cooked garbanzo beans

4 whole grain tortillas ground into crumbs or small pieces

1 cup cooked spinach, liquid drained (about 4 cups fresh)

Pinch of salt

Pepper and cumin to taste

Fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 400º.

Lightly grease an 8×8 casserole dish with cooking spray. In a pan, lightly sauté the onion, green pepper and jalapeño in oil until soft, about 5 minutes, then add 1 cup of corn. Remove from heat.

In a blender, combine the other cup corn, eggs and egg whites, milk, and tortilla crumbs and blend well.

In a bowl, combine the egg mixture, the onion/pepper/corn mixture, spinach, beans, and spices. Transfer everything to the prepared dish, and bake until set, or a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.

Let cool for 10 minutes. Serve topped with chopped cilantro.

Yields 4 servings.

Nutrition information (per serving):

280 Calories, 8g fat, 15g protein, 9g fiber, 9g sugar, 425mg sodium

Anti-Hunger Advocates Unite

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:31:24 +0000

CalFresh Outreach workers Maira & Luisa

Ending hunger takes a village, to borrow a phrase. Second Harvest is lucky to have partners across Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito counties willing to join forces to solve this stubborn problem. We recently brought together the Central Coast Hunger Coalition and a regional CalFresh (formerly the food stamps program) outreach partnership to see how we can make a difference by sharing what we know.

Did You Know?

Many of the hardworking laborers who harvest the food we eat are going hungry during the winter. Second Harvest staff helps eligible farmworkers and their families enroll in CalFresh, by making presentations directly in the berry fields of Watsonville. Our staff teamed up with Reiter Berry Affiliates to let farmworkers know about how the assistance program can put healthy food on their table. With the picking season winding down and winter hardship on the horizon, we were able to visit 17 ranches, reaching 782 workers with this important message.
If you live more than one mile from a full service, affordable grocery store, you are in what’s called a food desert. People in these usually low-income, urban neighborhoods have a difficult time obtaining healthy, fresh food. With pockets including Live Oak and Watsonville, food deserts exist in Santa Cruz County. While many of our network’s pantry, soup kitchen, and distribution sites serve these areas, the food bank and its allies are taking a closer look at how we can create oases in these deserts.
Some of those we serve, like the homeless, the disabled, and, seniors, can’t use food like rice, beans, and canned goods because they don’t have the means to prepare it. They may lack access to a kitchen, or be unable to physically cook meals for themselves, making the task of feeding themselves a constant struggle. The new Restaurant Meals Program would help folks like these by letting them use their CalFresh benefits, in certain affordable restaurants like a soup and sandwich shop. The ability to get a cheap hot meal this way and take a brief respite from life on the streets, made one homeless participant feel, “like being part of civilization again.” While Santa Cruz County is not yet participating, Second Harvest will be advocating for eligible clients who could benefit.

Thanks to all of our dedicated anti-hunger advocates, including our neighbor food banks, county health and human service departments, Network for a Healthy California, United Way, 2-1-1, Community Bridges, the Volunteer Centers, Salud Para La Gente, Loaves & Fishes, United Farm Workers and Catholic Charities. For our hungry neighbors in need, our unity means their security.

Community Raises 2.7M Pounds

admin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:38:56 +0000

2,715,919M Pounds!

All the barrels have been picked up and weighed and the cash donations tabulated: the truly astounding grand total for the 2011 Second Harvest Food Bank Holiday Food Drive is just over 2.7 million pounds of food and cash equivalent! That’s well over our goal of 2.5M and a wonderful example of just how dedicated our community is to providing healthy food to hungry people.

The announcement was made during a special event at Michael’s on Main in Soquel. Thanks so much to Second Harvest board members, Phil Dundas and Jeremy Lezin, for putting on this event. Willy Elliott-McCrea, Chief Executive Officer of Second Harvest along with Holiday Food Drive Co-Chairs, Pastor Rene Schlaepfer of Twin Lakes Church and Ryan Coonerty, Mayor, City of Santa Cruz, were on hand for the big reveal. A hush went over the crowd as Pastor Rene quietly said that we didn’t make the 2.5M goal. Cheers went up when he then went on to explain that we had actually exceeded it—collecting over 2.7M pounds.

Every pound raised will be distributed by Second Harvest’s network of over 200 local agencies and programs and their 3,000 volunteers. Together, these agencies provide food and hope to 50,000 Santa Cruz County residents each month, half of whom are kids.

A perfect evening to mingle on the patio at Michael's

There was no end to the amount of activity and creativity used to raise food and funds this year—from holiday parties and in-store events, to kids selling homemade crafts—the compassion of our community came through loud and clear on every level. “I was concerned about our ability to meet our increased goal this year and was truly overwhelmed when I found out the total raised by our community,” said Elliott-McCrea. “You are all hunger fighters!”

We invite everyone to join Second Harvest for our Annual Awards Dinner on March 7th at the University Business Park in Santa Cruz (former Wrigley Building). We’ll be honoring our community heroes and 2012 Hunger Fighters of the Year at this fun community event. Seats are limited. Please purchase tickets by February 24th.

Carrie Birkhofer – Hunger Fighter

admin — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:18:34 +0000

Carrie Birkhofer leads Bay Federal Credit Union, its 170 employees and over 55,000 members to fighting hunger in Santa Cruz County. Bay Federal has been a presenting sponsor of the Holiday Food Drive for a number of years and they are proud to be a part of the hunger fighter army.