January 31, 2008

Community response to Second Harvest called outstanding

Although the numbers looked bleak going into the winter holiday season, Second Harvest Food Bank saw an influx of cash donations as their 2007 Holiday Food & Fund Drive wound to a close.

“As of Dec. 24, we were still only two-thirds of the way towards our financial goal,” said Michelle Sklar, senior director of Development for Second Harvest Food Bank. “We were very surprised but extremely pleased at how far ahead we were when the drive ended on Jan. 11.”

During the three-month drive, Second Harvest had hoped to collect 1.9 million pounds of food and $5 million; in actuality 1.6 million pounds of food and $6.5 million were donated.

Because donations of food fell short of the goal, a portion of the money collected during the drive will be used to purchase additional items to ensure that the food bank’s existing client base receives enough nutritious food to feed themselves and their families.

Food Bank personnel said the success of this year’s drive was essential. A decrease in national donations usually received through USDA and large manufacturers is causing the food bank to purchase more food than ever before. Coupled with rising fuel and freight costs, the situation puts a strain on the organization’s bottom line.

In addition, independent studies and surveys continue to indicate that although the food bank distributes food that touches an average of 163,000 people each month, in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties only half of the overall need is being met. And, as the economy continues to turn downward, the food bank’s partner nonprofit agencies are seeing an increase in requests for food assistance.

“It is important to celebrate our success, but it is even more important to understand that while we surpassed our financial goal the situation we have today is much different than the situation we had when we set that goal and launched our drive last October,” said Chip Huggins, CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank.

As the food bank enters into the third quarter of their fiscal year, they show an 11 percent increase in the amount of food distributed over last year. Second harvest plans to continue to increase the amount of food distributed and grow their client base through the expansion of several programs.

“Currently we are evaluating the best approach and will have a plan in place within the next month,” said Huggins. “Because 96 cents of every dollar donated is used to feed hungry people in our community, our supporters can rest assured that their donations will be put to good use.”

“We are grateful to the community for their outpouring of support and to the media for helping to get the word out,” said Huggins. “I also want to personally thank Bill Watkins, CEO of Seagate and chair of the 2007 Food & Fund Drive and his staff for their efforts this year.”

Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties is a private nonprofit organization that acquires and distributes more than 31 million pounds of food annually through their network of more than 400 community-based, nonprofit organizations operating food assistance programs at 821distribution sites.