Winter 2014
Second Helping A Quarterly Publication From Bay Area Food Bank
Notes from Dave David W. Reaney Executive Director This year marks my fourteenth year as executive director. Frankly, after 30 years in the Army, if you’d have asked me in April of 2000 how long I planned to work at the food bank, I’d have said three to five years. Yet, here I am almost 14 years later and I remain humbled by the outpouring of support I have seen across the gulf coast by people who care about their neighbors. It is that outpouring of support that keeps me motivated because I see the need and know that thousands of people are willing to devote their time and money to helping others less fortunate. This past few months have been no exception. In November, people across Santa Rosa County gathered together for the Farm to City event in Milton. Hundreds of families received turkeys, canned goods and fresh vegetables in time to have a good holiday meal thanks to the support of area farmers, city and county leaders, and our generous donors. It was just one part of the thousands of meals distributed for Thanksgiving to families in every one of the 24 counties we serve. In all this holiday season we supported more than 100 food pantries and soup kitchens with a special distribution of over 45,000 pounds of food, enough for over 35,000 meals. This season was part of a record breaking year of distribution for the food bank. We ended 2013 with an amazing 17.5 million pounds of food distributed. That equals over 13 million meals and includes over 200,000 summer meals for children, more than 100 mobile pantry distributions helping over 10,000 families, 266,100 after school snacks, and support to more than 400 food pantries who are staffed by volunteers working in their communities to help neighbors in need. To make all that happen, our drivers made over 11,900 stops at the 166 area grocery stores who support us, collecting over 6 million pounds of food. Additionally, we received over 900,000 pounds of fresh produce from Alabama farmers, the Farmers Feeding Florida program, and gleaning operations involving nearly 250 volunteers donating their time to pick produce from fields. While we remain dedicated to fighting hunger, we know 2014 will bring a whole new set of challenges and opportunities. Families will still struggle to make ends meet, children will still try to concentrate in school while hungry, and people down on their luck stand in soup kitchen lines to get their next meal. If you’re willing to continue to help your neighbor, so am I. Let’s make 2014 our best year yet. All food bank branches and offices will be closed March 4 for Mardi Gras.
Food Drives: The Latest and Greatest Scouting For Food The fourth annual Scouting for Food, conducted in partnership with Greer’s Markets and the Mobile Area Council Boy Scouts of America, was held on Saturday, November 9. A total of 19,907 pounds of food was collected and brought to various Greer’s, Food Tiger and CashSaver locations in Mobile, Baldwin, Washington and Clarke counties to be donated to the food bank and distributed to those in need. This year, the Girl Scouts of Southern Alabama also lent a hand at the on-site events and participation in the store-wide food drive effort at Greer’s locations brought in a surge of additional contributions from shoppers. This was the food bank’s second largest annual food drive in 2013 and helped to secure thousands of meals for our community during the holiday season.
Bronstein’s “Home for the Holidays” Bronstein’s Fine Furniture hosted the second annual “Home for the Holidays” event on December 3 with presenting sponsor, The Fresh Market. Guests enjoyed an evening of holiday gift shopping, a performance by children part of the Azalea City Center for the Arts, and gourmet treats from several local vendors. Bronstein’s encouraged the community to bring nonperishable items to donate to the food bank. A handful of participating vendors, including Simply Sweet Cupcake Boutique and Local 15, also held food drives at their locations leading up to the event. A grand total of 980 pounds of food and $798 were collected from this festive event.
Koby Subaru’s Share the Love Koby Subaru lived up to its campaign’s name and really shared the love this holiday season! By initiating in-store food drive efforts with local Food for Less and Piggly Wiggly locations, the initiative was able to raise nearly 1,500 pounds of shelf stable canned and dry goods. Koby Subaru also teamed up with United Way’s Young Leaders Society for two on-site food drives at Winn-Dixie stores in Daphne and Mobile bringing in an additional 1,500 pounds and $136 which will help to provide a grand total of nearly 3,000 meals for those struggling with hunger in our community.
Airbus Holiday Food Drive Each year we look forward to the Airbus holiday food drive. Not only because it brings in thousands of pounds of much needed food, but because their employees are so enthusiastic and really get into decorating their food barrels. This year, staff from the Certification and Cross Function won the departmental competition, raising 839 pounds of food. In addition to bragging rights, they received a free dress down day and a catered lunch for their hard work. Collectively, Airbus brought in 4,323 pounds of food and they’re setting the bar even higher for next year’s competition. 2 Second Helping
St. Paul’s Students Give Back Karla Gardner Volunteer & Food Drive Manager This January, the sixth-grade class of St. Paul’s Episcopal School volunteered at the food bank for their annual Day of Service. Nearly 100 students helped process food donations, pack bags for the Backpack Program, and lent a hand with various projects in the community garden including planting carrots and collard greens, mulching around the blueberry bushes, weeding, and adding items to the compost. Large groups like this help the food bank to get a head start on projects that would typically take much more time for staff and individual volunteers to accomplish. The students were enthusiastic about serving the community through their work in the various areas at the food bank and took pride in knowing that their actions would help those less fortunate. Each grade at St. Paul’s has a service focus, with hunger and the homeless being the sixth-grade’s service focus. “The kids don’t just serve, they are also learning about their service focus,” says Leslie Lerner, Community Service Director at St. Paul’s Episcopal School. “We can see a difference when we leave here, the kids are more aware. They write an essay about their experience and we have found it is really wonderful to have a reflection in coordination with their service.” Service learning is an important lesson to teach our youth and is an experience that sticks with them long after volunteering. We look forward to welcoming St. Paul’s and other groups like them in the future.
SNAP Outreach Expands into Mississippi Evie McLarty SNAP Outreach Coordinator, Mississippi On November 1, Bay Area Food Bank officially launched the SNAP Outreach Program into our eight county Mississippi service area. This program coordinates SNAP Outreach team members into communities to provide assistance for potential applicants and households that may not be familiar with the current application process and benefits of SNAP. Providing this assistance to eligible households that are not participating can often be the difference in providing more meals to meet their needs. Expanding our program from operating in Alabama to Mississippi can be quite a task, which is why we look to identify and incorporate volunteers from all over the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Volunteers are essential to our program not just because of the hours they put in but because of the time they spend with each applicant. The SNAP Outreach Program is also focused on partnering with our food bank agencies to provide outreach services to their clients alongside their food distributions. Food pantries, shelters and other places that serve food insecure households are key allies to our outreach program. To learn more about volunteering with SNAP Outreach, contact Evie McLarty at (228) 896-9679 or emclarty@bayareafoodbank.org. Bay Area Food Bank 3
Volunteer Spotlight: Karen Marr Karla Gardner Volunteer & Food Drive Manager Karen Marr is one of those exceptionally versatile volunteers who can be called on at even a moment’s notice. She has helped with everything from child nutrition inventory and bulk mailings to assisting with the World’s Biggest Brownie at Something Sweet for Hunger Action Month. She and her granddaughter, Dani, began volunteering to help sort and inspect food donations at the food bank this past summer as a way to give back to the community and spend time together while Dani was out of school. The two also helped to staff our silent auction table at the Chef Challenge fundraiser this past September and most recently at the Satsuma gleaning at Sunnyland Citrus Farm. Reflecting on her volunteer experience, Marr says, “Volunteering at the food bank is twofold for me. I am able to help the community and make new friendships along the way. I’ve had the opportunity to volunteer at many different events along with food sorting on a regular basis.” We are so fortunate to have Karen and Dani on our team!
Walmart Aims to Defeat Hunger Megan Larson External Relations Manager, Panhandle Branch The first annual Defeat Hunger Bowl food drive kicked off January 8 with 21 participating Walmart stores in the Florida Panhandle. The concept of the food drive originated in Eastern Wisconsin and has spread to Michigan, North Florida, and Louisiana. On January 18, Bay Area Food Bank held a fundraising event at the Walmart in Pace, FL. Spectators from across the community showed up to watch 120 members of the Milton High School Mighty Black and Gold band as well as the Panther cheerleading team perform. As the Walmart manager said later, the performance turned out to be a “concert in the park!” Along with these supporters, the Milton High School football team volunteered to grill and serve brats, hot dogs, chips, chili, and Coke products with all proceeds benefitting Bay Area Food Bank. Through the single day’s effort the food bank raised over $5,000 and over 3,000 pounds of food, thanks to help from Walmart, Milton High School, the United Way of Santa Rosa, and event attendees. We couldn’t be happier with how this event turned out and hope we can make next year’s food drive and fundraiser even bigger! 4 Second Helping
Community Garden Network Gears Up For Spring Vanessa Cochran Garden and Agriculture Projects Manager Bay Area Food Bank has wrapped up its annual Satsuma gleaning. Special thanks to Ladnier Citrus Farm, Sunnyland Satsuma Farm and LaConsay Farm for inviting the food bank to glean at the end of the season. With the help of our dedicated volunteers, the food bank was able to capture nearly 20,000 pounds of Satsumas. The fruit was distributed to those in need through our network of over 400 partner agencies. Bay Area Food Bank’s Community Garden Network will soon be releasing dates for its Spring Gardening Workshop Series. Hosted by extension agents and other garden experts, workshops will cover topics like organic pest management, caring for citrus trees, and composting. Each workshop will have hands-on activities and will be held at different gardens in our network. Raised garden plots are available for adoption at our Main Branch in Theodore. Adopting a plot is a great way to join a community of gardeners while also giving back to those in need. One plot is available for the small fee of $15, or two plots can be adopted for $25. We ask that gardeners employ organic methods and donate at least 50% of their harvest back to the food bank. Gardeners can now pull water for their plots from a large cistern, which catches rain water off of our outdoor classroom. The cistern holds 1,500 gallons of water and was donated by Alabama Cooperative Extension System. If you are looking to volunteer at a garden closer to home, please contact our Garden and Agriculture Projects Manager, Vanessa Cochran, at (251) 653-1617 ext. 114 or vcochran@bayareafoodbank.org, to learn where other gardens in our network our located. It doesn’t feel like spring yet, but there is a lot to do in the garden to make sure the soil is ready in just a few short weeks.
22nd Annual Stamp Out Hunger Save The Date! May 10, 2014
Bay Area Food Bank is now a registered charity at AmazonSmile. For every purchase you make through AmazonSmile, a portion will be donated to us! Bay Area Food Bank 5
Hunger Hero: SSAB Mary Candance Vegliacich Special Events and Media Manager SSAB has been a dedicated partner in the food bank’s mission to fight hunger for over a decade, providing support through donations to our various programs including child nutrition, general distribution, mobile pantries, and participating one of our top sponsors at our annual fundraiser, Chef Challenge. Through their donations in 2013, they helped us provide more than 35,000 meals to those struggling with hunger in our community. Before the busy holiday season started, they decided they wanted to do something more for those struggling in their own backyard and help us with our Thanksgiving meal distribution, providing families in need with groceries so they might be able to enjoy a traditional holiday meal. With the plant located in Axis, Alabama we began planning a distribution in Creola with partner agency, St. Andrews Chapel. As the event began to take shape, SSAB employees jumped at every chance to get more involved, adding a food drive element, volunteering at the food bank the week before the event to help pack boxes, and finally, recruiting their own family and friends to help the morning of the distribution to help pass out food to those in need. Thanks to our friends at SSAB, we were able to distribute an additional 4,000 pounds of food in North Mobile County and provide 100 families in need with food for the holiday—something we could not have accomplished without their generous support. Thank you SSAB!
Generous Organizations Invest in Our Future Bay Area Food Bank received a $10,000 power efficiency grant from Alabama Power. This grant allowed us to replace one of our old air conditioning units and become more energy efficient saving the food bank thousands of dollars in years to come. We also received a $10,000 Produce Capture Institute Grant from Cargill that will allow us to access more fresh produce in our area. We will be working with the Produce Capture Institute over the next two years and sharing strategies and lessons with seven other Feeding America food banks to more than double the amount of produce sourced with the eventual goal of sharing produce with other food banks in the country.
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A $75,000 Walmart State Giving Grant has allowed us to expand our SNAP Outreach and Mobile Pantry services in Mississippi. With these funds, we will distribute an additional 100,000 lbs. of food through our Mobile Pantry Program in Mississippi. This grant will allow us to reach more families in need at these distributions who may be eligible to receive SNAP benefits. A SNAP Outreach volunteer program in Mississippi is also being developed so we can begin assisting individuals and families in more rural areas. We also received $25,000 in Florida to help expand our Retail Store Level Pickup Program. This will allow us to stregthen our relationships with our retail donors and increase the amount of nutritious food collected and distributed – including fresh produce, meat and dairy products.
Can Do Good Karla Gardner Volunteer & Food Drive Manager December held Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood’s Can Do Good competition at the Gulf Coast Exploreum. The annual event is a social design competition among high school students that expanded this year to include schools in Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee. The event also saw a large increase in participation this year with the addition of an online component that allowed schools to build their Mardi Gras themed structures at school and submit photos. After the three hours allowed for construction, a panel of community leaders judged the structures on creativity, difficulty and stability. Davidson High School took first place as well as the Viewer’s Choice Award at the on-site competition at the Exploreum, building a Mardi Gras mask out of canned goods. The nine participating high schools from Mobile and Baldwin counties collected a cumulative 4,722 pounds of food, much of which exceeded what was used to build the actual structures. The Can Do Good competition strives to encourage hands on learning about architecture, engineering, team building, creative design skills and social responsibility. We are thrilled about the surge of participation in our community this year and look forward to future endeavors.
Board of Directors J.E.B. Shell, Chair Hargrove Engineers + Constructors
Jerry D’Aquisto Jim Barnes Enterprises
Austin Penny Austin Penny & Associates
Judy Scroggins, Vice Chair Mondelēz International
Carolyn Feltus Alabama Power
Cookie Powell Nutritionist
Ida Swift, Secretary Community Representative
Bob Hart Walmart Stores
Marion Quina Burr & Forman, LLP
Russ Ford, Jr., Treasurer IBERIABANK
Brad Hicks Stone, Granade & Crosby
Sydney Raine Mobile WORKS
Alexis Atkins Budweiser-Busch Distributing Co.
Steve Hunter Olivia’s Xpress, LLC
Susan Rak-Blanchard Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce
Jessica Callahan University of South Alabama
Bob Jones United Bank
Douglas Whitmore Wells Fargo Financial Advisors
Mike Clark Panera Bread
Alec Naman Naman’s Catering
Gia Coleman Department of Human Resources
James Parker Retired UAW Local 1639 Bay Area Food Bank 7
5248 Mobile South St., Theodore, AL 36582
Non Profit Org US Postage PAID Mobile, AL Permit No. 350 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Get Involved 2014 Garden Workshop Series: Fruit Tree Workshop Saturday, March 22 Taylor Park Community Garden 1050 Baltimore St., Mobile, AL Starts at 9 a.m.
Extension Agents, James Miles and Ellen Huckabay, will talk about the right way to plant fruit trees and care for them throughout the year. Participants will help plant one dozen satsuma, fig, and grapefruit trees.
Join the Fight Against Hunger! We are in need of volunteers to help us sort food donations at both our Main and Panhandle Branch. Main Branch Volunteer Shifts: Monday – Friday | 9 a.m. – Noon & 12:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Panhandle Branch Volunteer Shifts: Monday – Thursday | 8:30 a.m. – Noon & 1 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
We can also host groups of 8 or more after school or work on weeknights Monday – Thursday. Contact Karla Gardner, our Volunteer and Food Drives Manager at (251) 653-1617 ext. 127 or kgardner@bayareafoodbank.org.
We can also host groups of 6 or more on Fridays and Saturdays. Contact Briteny McKeithen, our Panhandle Branch Volunteer and Food Drives Coordinator at (850) 626-1332 ext. 108 or bmckeithen@bayareafoodbank.org.
Main Branch 5248 Mobile South St. Theodore, AL 36582 (251) 653-1617 Panhandle Branch 5709 Industrial Blvd. Milton, FL 32583 (850) 626-1332 Mississippi Office 11975 Seaway Rd., B239 Gulfport, MS 39503 1-888-704-FOOD www.bayareafoodbank.org
Bay Area Food Bank is an equal opportunity provider.