2013 Annual Report - Greater Cleveland Food Bank (updated)

1 Greater Cleveland Food Bank | 2013 Annual Report

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We didn’t become Northeast Ohio’s largest hunger relief organization by hanging onto antiquated notions of feeding communities. We don’t serve 39 million meals annually from a stockpile of cans. We don’t reach more than 224,000 people using stale thinking. We at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank believe in fresh.

In 2013 we made a series of changes that continued our focus on excellence and innovation, inside and out. From the food we serve to the methods in which we reach our communities, we are always striving to improve our efforts, and we aren’t

afraid to try new things in order to achieve our goals. We are proudly entering 2014 with a fresh look, fresh food and most importantly a fresh wave of determination.

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Our Mission

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Working to ensure that everyone in our communities has the nutritious f ood they need every day.

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PROUD TO SERVE It might be hard for you to imagine what it is like to stand in line at a soup kitchen, to not know where your next meal will come from or where to turn for assistance as you strive to support your family. It might be harder still to imagine that anyone can be impacted by hunger. One in six Ohioans struggle to put food on the table. These are our neighbors, co-workers, and friends – maybe even our family members. The issue of hunger is a big one, and we know that it’s going to take the entire community at the table to solve it.

Our deepest gratitude goes out to everyone who advocated, contributed funds, donated food and volunteered to help us this past year. The fight continues and we won’t rest until everyone is fed. We hope you won’t either. For every child going to bed with a full stomach because of the backpack they received, or the warm meal they ate at a Kids Cafe – thank you. For every senior heating their home, taking their medications and eating a nourishing meal without having to choose one option over another – thank you.

For everyone who received food from a local food pantry, mobile pantry, soup kitchen or shelter - thank you.

For more than 30 years, the Greater Cleveland Food Bank has been there for hungry people in Northeast Ohio. From emergency food to SNAP outreach and nutrition education, people from various backgrounds have counted on us as their lifeline during tough times. Last year alone, we made possible nearly 39 million meals, up from just 33 million the previous year.

As proud as we are of our accomplishments to date, we realize there is still a lot of work to be done to achieve our goals. With this in mind, we continue to focus on excellence and innovation in our programming and outreach efforts.

We are indebted to the continued support of our community partners. Working with our member agencies, we are a lifeline to thousands of men, women and children in our service area. We are an organization doing something great – and striving to do something even greater. Thank you for joining the fight. We are proud that the families and communities we serve are not in this alone.

We continue to provide four meals for each dollar raised. We are well on our way to completing our cold storage expansion, which will more than double our capacity to distribute more fresh produce and protein.

In 2013 we fed more than 8,000 children through our childrens programs. We increased our fundraising, which allowed us to expand our programs. We distributed more than 12 million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables. But we didn’t accomplish these goals alone. We are only able to share these positive achievements because of the support from our generous community.

Anne Goodman | President & CEO

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1= 4

$

MEALS

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A donation of one dollar can provide four meals for hungry people in our communities.

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12,417,419 Million pounds of fresh produce distributed in 2013

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2013 BY THE NUMBERS POUNDS OF NONPERISHABLE FOOD DISTRIBUTED

From Private Donors From the United States Department of Agriculture From the State of Ohio

Total

6,568,283 7,914,286 1,653,077

16,135,646

POUNDS OF FRESH PRODUCE DISTRIBUTED

From Private Donors From the United States Department of Agriculture From the State of Ohio

7,597,729 584,000 4,235,690

Total

12,417,419

Pounds of Prepared Meals Pounds of Perishable Food (in addition to fresh produce) Pounds of Purchased Food

1,493,388 1,133,985 5,464,372

Total Pounds of Food Distribution

Total Meals Provided via Food Total Meals Provided via SNAP Total Meals Made Possible

36,644,810 30,537,341 8,160,098 38,697,439

Monetary Value of Food Distributed Member Programs Food Industry Donors Volunteers Financial Donors

$52,134,210 776 360 11,249 30,169

Harvest for Hunger Campaign Donations* General Operating contributions and grants

$3,294,583 $6,890,798

Total funds raised

$10,185,381

*Funds donated to the Greater Cleveland Food Bank through the 21-county campaign.

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38,697,439 Total Meals Made Possible

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The Greater Cleveland Food Bank recently completed a new marketing plan to align with our strategic goals as an organization. Part of this marketing plan included a name change and new logo.

The fresh identity, designed to be used and maintained across all aspects of the organization, better reflects the work we do as the largest hunger relief organization in Northeast Ohio. We feel that our new look will further engage the general public and potential donors and volunteers. According to our market research recently completed, the common public perception of our

service area based on our former name was limited to Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. Because we serve programs in Ashland, Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake and Richland counties, we decided to rebrand ourselves in a way that better conveyed the span of our service area.

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OLD LOGO

NEW LOGO

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Meet

Francisco

Age: 9 | School: Urban Community School on Cleveland’s west side Favorite Subjects: Math and reading | Dream Job: President of The United States

Francisco lives with his mother and spends time with his grandparents, who live across the street. You wouldn’t know it from his gregarious spirit and bright smile, but Francisco doesn’t always have enough to eat. His mother often has trouble stretching her paycheck to cover all their needs, and his grandparents are on a small fixed income.

Each Friday, he’s able to take home a backpack full of nutritious, kid-friendly meals through Backpacks for Kids, a Greater Cleveland Food Bank program at his school and 38 others across our service area.

Children from 100 families at Francisco’s elementary school receive backpacks of food each week, and the faculty and staff say they see a marked improvement in the attitudes and performance of those who participate in the program. Julie Babcock is a Kindergarten teacher at the school, and she says the weekly backpacks give students confidence because they can rely on them when life outside of school feels unstable.

"The kids know they can count on this food," she says. "They feel loved — there’s someone out there who they don’t know who cares about them." ”

“They feel loved — there’s someone out there who they don’t know who cares about them.’’

Francisco understands that his mom and grandparents don’t always have money to buy him food, and he feels proud that he can contribute to his family by bringing home the backpack each weekend. He’s so thankful that you choose to give.

"Thank you for the food!" he says. "It’s nice for you to give the food. It helps my mom a lot." Francisco is on the road to achieving his dreams because of your compassion.

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Children’s Programs The Children’s Nutrition Initiative

Summer Food Service Programs (SFSP)

These programs provide a safety net for food insecure children, like Francisco, in the evenings, over weekends and during summer vacations, when free or reduced priced school meals are unavailable. In 2013, more than 8,200 children were served through these programs. Nutritious food is the most basic of human needs, and without regular access to it, hungry children are at risk of serious health issues.

We provided over 170,000 meals to students during the summer months at community centers and other agencies. In 2013, the Greater Cleveland Food Bank partnered with 42 summer feeding sites to provide lunch and, in some cases, breakfast each day.

BackPacks for Kids The Food Bank provided enough food for over 566,000 meals through this program in 2013. At the end of each week, food was delivered to children in need to travel home discreetly in their backpacks for use over the weekend, when they do not have access to free or reduced price meals at school. Each child receives enough food for six full meals, including items such as cereal, a protein source such as tuna fish, beef stew, or peanut butter, canned vegetables and fruit, soup, juice boxes and a snack such as peanut butter crackers or yogurt snacks. The backpacks were also used as a medium through which nutrition education materials were shared with the children’s parents, helping to reinforce healthy eating habits at home.

Kids Cafes Just over 280,000 meals were served through Kids Cafes in 2013. The Food Bank provided a daily late afternoon or evening meal and regular nutrition education activities to at-risk youth at member agency sites after school. To ensure that the children—who are often more selective eaters than many adults—are eating the foods we provide, the Food Bank uses a dietitian to help make sure that the kid-friendly meals our staff and volunteers create are appealing and also meet standards for healthy eating for youth.

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Meet

Luke & Katie Married: 58 years | Occupation: Retired | Family: Grandparents For senior citizens living on fixed incomes, winter can be an especially difficult time. As temperatures drop, heating bills escalate, often cutting into budgets for food and medicine. It’s a sad reality that men and women who’ve worked hard their whole lives face uncertainty and financial challenges in their golden years. That’s definitely the case for Luke and Katie.

Katie volunteers to help pass out the food to the hundreds of people who come for help — many of them senior citizens like her and Luke.

“We can eat healthier.’’

And when the distribution is over, Katie and Luke get to take home the same fresh produce she helps give away. They especially love to get potatoes, corn, green beans, onions and leafy greens.

This fresh produce has greatly improved their quality of life.

Luke and Katie met and married as teenagers ­— 58 years ago — and they’ve been in love ever since. Together they bought a home, raised a family and grew old.

"We can eat healthier," says Luke, with gratitude. "It’s really nice." Because of your support that provides them with free produce, Luke and Katie can be more active and they say they rarely get sick anymore.

Luke retired from his job as a scale operator a few years back and the couple now lives on his social security income.

They live simply and buy only what they need. But even as frugal as they are, they can’t always afford to buy the nutritious food – especially fruits and vegetables – that will help keep them healthy.

Thankfully, their church, Calvary Hill Baptist Church in Cleveland, hosts a Greater Cleveland Food Bank mobile pantry.

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Additional Programs Nutrition Initiatives

Food Bank Kitchen

Gone are the days of food banks only serving canned, nonperishable items. We place heavy value on nutrition, and a crucial element to good nutrition is fresh foods.

Through our Fresh Produce Initiative, we have worked with hundreds of food donors to increase the nutritional value of the food we distribute. This past year, the Food Bank distributed 12.4 million pounds of produce.

Our kitchen prepares complete meals for organizations, such as hot meal programs, that lack the resources or staff to prepare meals at their own facilities. Our staff worked throughout FY2013 to ensure that the meals we distribute are as nutritious as possible.

Several changes were made to our menus such as: switching our gravies and sauces to low sodium, which dramatically reduces the amount of sodium in our senior and kids prepared meals; adding more variety of vegetables; eliminating much of our red meat by substituting with ground turkey or chicken products to reduce the amount of saturated fats and cholesterol in our meals; serving a piece of fresh fruit with every meal; limiting our desserts to 200 calories per serving; and encouraging all of our sites to include water at all of their meals instead of soda or high caloric beverages. On average, we distribute over 7,000 meals per day through the Kitchen.

Overall, the Greater Cleveland Food Bank distributed 36.6 million pounds of nutritious food in our six-county service area that includes Cuyahoga, Lake Geauga, Ashtabula, Richland and Ashland counties.

This increase would not have been possible without the strong support of our food donors—including farmers, retailers, grocers, manufacturers, the State of Ohio, the United States Department of Agriculture and generous organizations.

Mobile Pantry Program

Educational Programs

The primary means of providing fresh food to communities is through our Mobile Pantry Program. On a predetermined date and time, a Food Bank truck delivers a load (10,00012,000 pounds) of produce and other perishable and non-perishable items to an easily accessible community site.

Our Agency Academy brings together community partners to provide educational and health-related programming to our member agencies to help increase the capacity of hunger center volunteers and staff to serve their clients. In FY2013, we offered 16 nutrition-related courses.

Distributions take place in a variety of settings: church parking lots, Food Bank member agencies, community centers, and even at the Food Bank. With the help of volunteers, clients receive bags of nutritious fresh produce and other items. We distributed just over 8.4 million pounds of food through 755 mobile distributions last year!

We will offer more of these courses in the upcoming year to help educate our agencies and encourage them to take the nutritious foods we have available on our menu. The Food Bank hired a nutrition manager to help increase agency and client knowledge about nutrition by conducting cooking demos and meal planning.

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Meet

DAWN City: Lakewood | Occupation: Nurse | Children: Silas & Calvin, 6; and Greyson, 4 Dawn carried the phone number for the Help Center in her pocket for weeks.

She says she just wasn’t ready to admit defeat. She figured if she could just hold out a little longer, she’d finally find a nursing job, and then be back on her feet in no time.

Dawn was able to visit the pantry Yolanda recommended that same day.

She remembers the relief she felt as she entered the pantry, which was full of the food she hadn’t been able to provide for Silas, Calvin and Greyson.

She knew the little boys would be so excited when she brought home apples — their favorite. That night, they had ground turkey tacos.

When a sudden divorce left her as a single parent, Dawn found the lapse in her work history to be debilitating to her job search. Surely she’d find something soon, she thought. But then one night Dawn realized she had nothing to give her boys for supper, and she had no other choice but to seek help.

Through it all, Dawn knows it’s thanks to your support of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank that she was able to find the help she needed.

"Thank you. Without you, people would be hungry — we were days from going hungry," she says. Aside from connecting Dawn with the immediate food assistance she needed at the food Yolanda helped Dawn apply for pantry, SNAP benefits. Within a few weeks, the caring mother was able to take her little boys to the grocery store.

“Thank you. Without you, people would be hungry — we were days from going hungry’’

"It’s a sad story, but with a happy ending," Dawn says. "We’re coming through it. Good things keep happening." Good things, indeed.

When she finally called the Help Center, Yolanda answered the phone and looked up where I could get help in my neighborhood. "She was so kind.

She worked with me for over an hour to see what I qualified for."

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SNAP Outreach The Greater Cleveland Food Bank’s

The Cleveland Food Bank received the 2013 Mary Ruth Herbers SNAP Outreach Excellence in Food Banking Award from Feeding America. The award is given to the year’s most outstanding SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps) outreach program from the 202 food banks across the nation in the Feeding America network. Judges awarded the distinction to the Greater Cleveland Food Bank for helping area families find a stable source of food - in particular, through SNAP.

Help Center opened in 2013. Unique among food banks in the nation, the Food Bank’s Help Center is open daily to refer low income callers to local agencies and sign-up eligible Northeast Ohioans for the SNAP programs and other benefits.

With this new Help Center, the Food Bank completed 9,825 SNAP applications and it resulted in 8.2 million meals for eligible people in Northeast Ohio.

This is just over 20% of the total meals we provided.

The Greater Cleveland Food Bank received the 2013 Mary Ruth Herbers SNAP Outreach Excellence in Food Banking Award from Feeding America for outstanding service.

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11,249 The efforts of our 11,249 volunteers save the Food Bank the cost of hiring approximately 29 full-time employees.

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STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES AND CHANGES IN NET ASSETS YEAR ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

FOOD PROGRAMS REVENUE VALUE OF FOOD RECEIVED Value of Food Donated Value of USDA and OFPP Food Received

$26,837,903 21,456,370 48,294,273

FOOD REVENUE Purchased Food Program Total Food Programs Revenue

3,848,613 52,142,886

OPERATING REVENUE Member Agency Handling Fees

2,393,452

Federal, State, County Government Reimbursements and admin fees

1,889,670

Contributions and Grants (including board designated endowment contributions)

6,949,626

Harvest for Hunger Campaign

3,294,583

Other

166,711

Total Operating Revenue

14,694,042

Total Revenue from Food Programs and Operations

66,836,928

FOOD PROGRAMS EXPENSE VALUE OF FOOD DISTRIBUTED Value of Donated Food Distributed including scrap

26,031,665

Value of USDA and OFPP Food Distributed including scrap

20,272,160

46,303,825

FOOD COST OF GOODS SOLD Purchased Food Program including scrap

3,543,259

Allocation of Harvest for Hunger Grants/Food

2,287,126

Total Food Programs Expenses

$52,134,210

OPERATING EXPENSES PROGRAM EXPENSES Operations

$7,151,404

Cleveland Food Bank Kitchen

1,815,668

Community and Government Programming

1,049,850

Total Program Expenses

10,016,922

SUPPORT SERVICES Fundraising

1,988,048

Volunteer Services & Product Resource Development Administration

211,146 1,041,602

Total Support Services

3,240,796

Total Operating Expenses

13,257,718

Total Food Program and Operating Expenses

65,391,928

Change from Operations

1,445,000

OTHER REVENUE Cooler/freezer Expansion Contributions

429,740

Endowment contributions

200

Income and Gain (loss) from investments

574,958

Total Other Revenue

1,004,898

Change in Net Assets

2,449,898

Net Assets, Beginning of Year

13,337,504

Net Assets, End of Year

$15,787,402

The Statement of Activities and Changes in Net Assets reflects activity from October 1, 2012 through September 30, 2013. The complete audited financials from October 1, 2012 through September 30, 2013 are available for review by calling the Greater Cleveland Food Bank at 216.738.2052.

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STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

ASSETS CURRENT ASSETS Cash and Cash Equivalents

$0

Investment Reserve Account, at Market

4,082,342

RECEIVABLES Agency Receivables, Net

233,681

Government Administrative Fees/Reimbursements

319,721

Harvest for Hunger Pledges, Net

82,863

Operating Pledges

319,996

Current Portion of Cooler/Freezer Expansion Pledges

280,148

1,236,409

INVENTORY Contributed Product

2,005,704

Purchased Product

565,433

USDA Product

1,247,376

Ohio Food Purchase Program Product

393,358

Greater Cleveland Food Bank Kitchen Purchased Food

115,193

4,327,064

Prepaid Expenses and Other Deposits

33,318

Total Current Assets

9,679,133

Property and Equipment, Net

7,926,455

OTHER ASSETS Cash, Restricted for Cooler/Freezer Expansion

719,592

Investments Held as Endowment

606,119

Cooler/Freezer Expansion Pledges, Net of Current Portion Capitalized software, Net

50,000 181,297

Deposits

2,816

Total Assets

$19,165,412

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LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS CURRENT LIABILITIES Accounts Payable - Operating

$1,027,203

Accrued Expenses

486,816

Harvest for Hunger Credits

1,332,255

Agency Grant Commitments

461,736

Deferred Revenue

70,000

Total Current Liabilities

3,378,010

Total Liabilities

3,378,010

NET ASSETS - UNRESTRICTED Unrestricted

5,575,217

Net Investment in Plant & Equipment

8,107,752

Total Undesignated

13,682,969

Board Designated for Endowment

567,137

Total Unrestricted

14,250,106

NET ASSETS - TEMPORARILY RESTRICTED Cooler/Freezer Expansion

1,049,740

Other

454,756

Total Temporary Restricted

1,504,496

Permanently Restricted Endowment

32,800

Total Net Assets

15,787,402

Total Liabilities and Net Assets

$19,165,412

The Statement of Financial Position is as of September 30, 2013. The complete set of audited financial statements as of September 30, 2013 are available for review by calling the Greater Cleveland Food Bank at 216.738.2052.

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FY2013 OPERATING REVENUE

1.1 | $166,711 All Other 12.6% |$1,889,670 Federal, State, County Government reimbursements & admin fees

TOTAL

$14,940,568

18.1% | $2,698,806 Member Agency Handling fees (Net Purchased, Delivery, Donated, CCK)

46.1% | $6,890,798 Contributions and grants

22.1% | $3,294,583 Harvest for Hunger Campaign

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FY2013 OPERATING EXPENSES

6.4% | $950,991 Administrative costs

12.5% | $1,856,834 Fundraising

1.4% | $210,836 Volunteer Services & Product Resource Development

TOTAL

$14,903,992

15.3% | $2,287,126 Harvest for Hunger Food and Grants

64.4% | $9,598,205 Programs

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Help us win the fight against hunger in our communities.

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THANK YOU TO ALL THE DONORS WHO MADE CONTRIBUTIONS IN 2013!

Monetary Donors Monetary - Monthly Donors Monetary - United Way And Fed Campaign Tomorrow’s Harvest Tributes Bequests

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Capital Donors 100 Plus Volunteers Hours Volunteer Groups Food Donors Food Drives

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15500 South Waterloo Rd. Cleveland, OH 44110 Phone: 216-738-2265 | Fax: 216-738-1604 | www.GreaterClevelandFoodBank.org

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