During the month of October, Second Harvest is focusing on raising awareness around Partner Agencies and Nutrition Education. As diabetes and poor nutrition continue to be an epidemic in the...
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Ingredients: 2 pounds carrot peeled and chopped 2 tablespoons oil 1 small onion chopped 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped 1 long stalk chopped celery 1½ teaspoon chopped fresh ginger...
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The Second Harvest Food Bank programs team will be presenting the benefits of a plant-based diet at Passion For Produce sites in August. This includes a food demonstration and food...
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Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County is excited to announce a $197,000 grant from the Central California Alliance for Health Healthy Food Access Program to expand food insecurity screening...
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Our network of partner agencies lies at the heart of what we do at the food bank. Without them, we could never reach as many people in need as we...
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Second Harvest is excited to share with you a brand new nutrition program that is aimed at empowering the next generation in our community towards healthy food and lifestyle choices. Passion For Produce -Youth INC (Implementing Nutritional Care) is a free nutrition education program that empowers teens to…
On June 1, the Live Oak branch of the Santa Cruz Public Library system in collaboration with Second Harvest Food Bank hosted its first Feria de Salud (health fair) including Zumba lessons, a fresh produce distribution and nutrition education. The event, funded through a grant designed by Programming/Outreach…
Like other parts of the country, the Central Coast has poverty and social challenges, especially when the cost of living and slow wage growth are taken into the equation. The...
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What is the best way for a hungry student to focus on studying and class activities? It’s a trick question. Studying, learning, and even paying attention are all next to impossible when you’re hungry or lacking in nutrients. That’s why Youth N.O.W., one of Second Harvest’s hundred partner…
When you volunteer in Second Harvest’s nutrition programs, you not only help the community, you become part of a community. The Nutrition Ambassadors who distribute food and produce throughout Santa Cruz County become a team of friends, and this month we’re spotlighting one of the volunteers who brings…
Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food. –Hippocrates This quote centers on the belief that eating wholesome food is the basis for good health. This is also what encouraged the staff at East Cliff Family Health Center to begin their own pantry distribution at their…
When Nancy Goudarzi closed her gift and garden shop on Freedom Blvd. several years ago, she wanted to spend the time she now had giving back to the community, and she wanted to focus on food. Why food? “Because it’s the most valuable and basic way to help,”…
One in 4 women and 1 in 7 men will experience severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime, according to the Centers for Disease Control. One of our partner agencies is focused like a laser on helping these victims of domestic violence. Monarch Services in…
Community Connection is a non-profit mental health program of the Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County and a Second Harvest Partner Agency. The program supports their clients by incorporating the Recovery Model, which helps them identify potential sources of meaning in their lives as active members of the…
“It’s your neighbors,” AR Pointer told me. I had been asking AR about the organization she started in the small town of Aromas, in south Santa Cruz County, called Neighbors Helping Neighbors. It’s one of Second Harvest’s newest member agencies, and twice a month the group distributes fresh…
“We can end family homelessness.” This is the work of Pajaro Valley Shelter Services (PVSS), day in and day out. Their dedicated staff of ten helps women, children, and families find safe and stable housing and helps them overcome barriers and develop the necessary skills to reach self-sufficiency….
Written by Chris Ryan One of Second Harvest Food Bank’s greatest assets, allowing us to distribute over 8 million pounds of food each year very efficiently, is our dedicated volunteers, and one of the most dedicated groups of volunteers comes from an organization that’s also one our partner…
Written by Chris Ryan This month’s agency spotlight focuses on a group inspired by a simple concept that’s close to our hearts here at the Food Bank: food should be shared, not wasted. Approximately 40% of food in America gets wasted. Because of spoilage during transportation and storage,…
