LetterToT TheEditor
Ending Hunger in SC County
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By Ryan Coonerty & Rene Schlaepfer
he Holiday Food Drive raises food and funds for a countywide network of agencies that can reach out to every family in need. Sadly, the demand for food has increased 58% in the last five years. Your neighbors, friends and coworkers in Santa Cruz County now receive 500,000 meals from local food providers every month. Nearly half of those helped are children. This is a difficult, but eminently solvable problem. We can end hunger in our community. Second Harvest provides food to 200 local food programs throughout Santa Cruz County where 3000 volunteers pack and distribute it to hungry people. All we need now is the commitment to say that we will no longer tolerate any child going to bed hungry in our community. It takes all people across this county – from north to south, Republicans and Democrats, religious and secular – coming together to contribute what they can. Twin Lakes Church is an example of how this can be done. Five years ago, when the economy was good, the church raised a respectable 45,000 pounds of food. Each year, interest has grown. As church members developed new events, enthusiasm and momentum grew and so did their combined contributions. This year, Twin Lakes set an ambitious goal of raising $1.40 a day for ten
weeks (a $100 donation) from every man, woman and child in the congregation the equivalent of one million pounds of food. Like everyone else, members of Twin Lakes have been profoundly affected by the economy. Many people couldn’t write checks, so they improvised. They sold old books, household items, saved spare change and sacrificed a meal out. Six-year-old Travis made homemade kites and sold them door-todoor, raising an amazing $680. Since Second Harvest can provide four meals for every dollar, he raised enough to provide 2,720 meals! In giving, the sense of community and meaning of the holidays grew at Twin Lakes Church. Those who contributed, those who needed help, and our entire community are stronger as a result. As your Holiday Food Drive CoChairs, we need your help. We still need 800,000 pounds to meet our goal of 2.5 million pounds. If everyone gives a little, we can feed a lot. Imagine ending hunger in our county in 2012. Imagine what else we can accomplish when we put aside our differences and focus on the ties that bind us – love for our children, care for our community, and a commitment to each other. To find out how you can help, visit www.thefoodbank.org. n ••• Ryan Coonerty, Mayor of Santa Cruz, and Rene Schlaepfer, Pastor at Twin Lakes Church, are co-chairs of the Second Harvest Holiday Food Drive.
he Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau has been informed that it will receive five “Activities of Excellence” awards at the California Farm Bureau 93rd Annual Meeting. The awards are for Membership, Policy Implementation, Leadership, Ag Education and Public Relations. The county will also receive two President’s Awards for Public Relations and Leadership. A local delegation of 10 will be attending the California Farm Bureau Federation’s 93rd Annual Meeting in Sparks, Nevada, December 4-7. The official delegates representing the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau are Chris Enright, President and Cynthia Mathiesen,
1st Vice-President. Alternate Delegates are David Van Lennep, 2nd Vice President and John E. Eiskamp, Past-President. Also attending from Santa Cruz County are: Jess Brown, Executive Director; Silvia Prevedelli and Nita Gizdich, Board Members; Matt Bissell, Board Member and District #10 Representative on CFBF Board of Directors; Bill Ringe, AgriCulture President; Darlene Din, Consultant; and Chase Renois, County Young Farmers & Ranchers committee member and District #10 Representative on Young Farmers and Ranchers State Committee.
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SCCFB Recognized by State Organization
2 / December 15th 2011 / Aptos Times www.tpgonlinedaily.com
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