Sometimes it is impossible to provide a frame to put around the picture that tells the story. We often use statistics to tell our story, citing

meteoric rises in the population we are serving. We also try to humanize the matter by offering stories that seek to personify the crisis. In short, we do whatever we can to connect our story and its urgency to our community – deliver-ing, we hope, a lasting impression that too many people are hungry, too many children are facing life-affecting nutrition issues and there is a way to help if we all join together. The questions for us are:

Are we loud enough? • Do you hear us? • Does our community know what • dire straits many neighbors are in?

Sometimes I wonder. Recently I was interviewed on the radio, talking about hunger in our community. The program included a call-in feature where people asked questions, amplified points or suggested a differ-ent thought. Of the four or five callers that contacted us, several of them noted, with some degree of em-phasis, that hungry people have often made bad choices that have placed them in this predica-

ment. According to those callers, the purchase of unnec-essary items, poor budgeting or a lack of will to accept re-sponsibility for their lives is, by implica-tion, the reason they are hungry. This is a point we hear often. I would say this, however. In some cases this is surely

true, but perhaps a poor choice shouldn’t lead to being hungry. They are a neighbor in need. They are a friend in a tough spot. Bad choices or not, they deserve for us to show them compassion and treat them with dignity. Our role at Second Harvest is to feed the hun-gry. Every day we focus on that single idea – that there is a person who is hungry today, and our goal is to find them a meal. But there is much more to the story – and it is something we all need to hear. We have been reviewing the latest national hunger study, set

to be released in February 2010. The numbers confirm what we already knew – that hunger is ris-ing in huge proportions and is affecting a greater percentage of our community than ever before. Really, it’s staggering. However, it isn’t just the “poor people” who need food anymore. It is now nurses, car mechan-ics, teachers – folks of all professions who are in need of food sustenance. There is a really good chance that someone you know is on a type of food assistance, and you aren’t even aware of it. That person who admin-isters health care, teaches children or makes the car safe might not have eaten yet today. Food insecurity is reaching all of us, in ways, places and people we never would have suspected. That is a loud message, and one I hope all of us can hear. The time for us to rally is now. The op-portunity to change the equation is right before us.

Thomas MantzExecutive Director Second Harvest North Florida

Thomas Mantz

Sometimes it gets hard trying to pay bills and keep adequate food on the table for my family.” – LeQuila

My husband deserted me and our children and left me homeless without any support. We have been staying with relatives, but I can’t afford to feed us all. Second Harvest is helping me get by.” – Michelle“ “

Second Harvest North Florida enjoyed a strong and productive 2009 – and by many standards the most successful year in agency history. Numbers illustrate it best:

• 10.3 million pounds of food were distributed in 2009, generating more than eight million meals for people in need. It marked the first time in agency history that food distributed exceeded 10 million pounds.

• The average distribution per day from Second Harvest now sits at 50,000 pounds.

• $1.28 million was raised through fundraising, special events, grants and spe-cial gifts – the highest total in agency history.

• Growth in corporate partnerships resulted in surplus food donations increasing more than 60 percent over the final two months of 2009. Second Harvest’s local donor list now includes Winn-Dixie, Wal-Mart, Target, BJ’s, Whole Foods, Sam’s Club, Food Lion and others.

• Volunteers donated their time and talents to Second Harvest like never before, with more than 4,300 individuals working 17,187 hours.

While these achievements reflect the strength of Second Harvest and the difference it is making, they also bear out a harsh realization – that more people are hungry now than at any other point in the agency’s 30-year history. Simply put, more is never enough when it comes to fighting hunger – and yet that is Second Harvest’s mission. Find more food. Reach more people. Fill more empty stomachs.

What the future holds for Second HarvestStudies have shown that Second Harvest will

need to increase its annual distribution to more than 25-30 million pounds over the next five years to adequately meet the needs of people in our area who are experiencing food insecurity or hun-ger. The last census showed that 250,000 people live below the federal poverty level in the 18-county area served by Second Harvest. Those numbers are certain to rise dramatically when the results are published from the 2010 census later this year.

So, what is Second Harvest doing to improve its capacity and help more people? The answer is

simple – building relationships. While nurturing strong relationships has always been a priority, doing so took on added significance in May 2009 when Thomas Mantz was hired as executive direc-tor. His stated mission from Day One has been to build friends for the agency and engage them in the work being done – meaning that if more people understand Second Harvest’s mission, and its importance, the hunger needs of all can be met.

What Second Harvest is doingIn that regard, a Strategic Development Council

of local leaders was assembled during the fall to help craft a long-term vision for Second Harvest. The group brings knowledge and experience from many different industries to the table and has already begun its work. This group will help move Second Harvest into the next decade and beyond, helping build the future for those that come in need of help.

Outreach to the general community also began in earnest this past fall, with two Wine In a Ware-house events and an Open House held in an effort to expose the general public to the reach Second Harvest has and the number of people it impacts each day. On these nights, the warehouse was

transformed into a charming gathering spot – with the appropriate backdrop of food, which is at the core of our mission.

Other outreach events in 2009 included the formation of a member agency advisory council to help Second Harvest learn how it can more effectively meet the needs of the more than 500 member agencies to which resources are distrib-uted; the launch of a new interactive Web site that allows feedback from the community and the people we serve; and the development of mul-tiple direct-distribution events that place healthy food into core parts of town where it is needed most; and two highly successful and visible public outreach “Be A Hero” food drives with First Coast News and Simon Malls, which resulted in more than 120,000 pounds of food donations and vis-ibility in the community.

Relationships already paying dividendsAnd while new relationships are being cultivat-

ed daily – from the addition of corporate food do-nors, to financial donors, to groups using Second Harvest’s volunteer program as an opportunity for teambuilding and community involvement – exist-ing relationships are being strengthened as well. Several of those longstanding alliances produced significant resources in the last year – led by the Bank of America Foundation, which awarded a $200,000 grant to Second Harvest to assist in its effort to build capacity at the food bank.

A $140,000 grant from the Community Foun-dation for the purchase of food allowed Second Harvest to make a direct impact on surging numbers of people seeking assistance during the spring. More than 3,900 family boxes of food were created and distributed by this funding – in addition to more than 14,000 pounds of bulk food items that went directly to Jacksonville’s major feeding sites.

As a new decade begins, Second Harvest will continue to perform its unique task in the north Florida community and to draw others into the discussion.

For a complete list of the organizations and individuals who have contributed to our success, or to learn more, please visit us online at www.WeNourishHope.org.

MissionSecond Harvest North Florida’s

mission is to distribute food and gro-cery products to hungry people and educate the public about the causes and possible solutions to problems of domestic hunger.

HistoryThe program began as the Lu-

theran Social Services food program in 1979 and was known as the Nourishment Network. It became the LSS Food Bank in 1981 as its ser-vices expanded. In 1984, the Food Bank became a certified member of the national organization America’s Second Harvest, which is now called Feeding America. The program took on its name, The Second Harvest Food Bank of North Florida, in January 2008, which was shortened to Second Harvest North Florida in summer 2009.

How It WorksThere are two basic components to the Sec-

ond Harvest operation: 1) rescuing surplus food and purchasing food, and then redistributing it to local nonprofit organizations serving the hungry; 2) providing nutritious meals and healthy snacks to children from low-income families through community-based Kids Cafe sites.

Second Harvest is the link between food and agencies serving children, families, individuals and senior citizens in need. The majority of sur-plus food would be thrown away without this link.

Financial contributions from individuals, business-es and special events enable Second Harvest to rescue and store donated food for pick up by more than 500 nonprofit organizations in 18 counties.

These organizations, which include homeless shelters, senior centers, youth and adult daycare facilities and church pantries, save millions of dol-lars each year by making use of Second Harvest North Florida. This allows agencies to spend more money on services to individuals in Jacksonville and surrounding areas and meet more than just basic needs.

Second Harvest receives food in many dif-ferent ways. The Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is one key food assistance program. Other food contributions to

the food banks come from private donors, public and private food drives, corporate donations, restau-rants and grocery stores and from grocery wholesalers. By establishing relationships with large food suppli-ers like ConAgra, Second Harvest is also able to purchase a large volume of food.

Key ProgramsKids Cafe - Works in conjunc-

tion with agency host sites, such as Boys and Girls Clubs, faith organiza-tions and after school programs, to offer children in low-income neighborhoods a safe place to find nourishment, meet role models and participate in positive activities.

Mobile Pantries - Distribute donated food directly to families in need in their own neighborhoods. A sponsoring group assists in identifying a distribution point and recruiting volunteers to assist in low-income neighborhoods.

BackPack Program - Designed to meet the needs of hungry children at times when other resources are not available, such as weekends and school vacations. Backpacks are filled with food that children take home on weekends. Food is child-friendly, nonperishable, easily consumed and vitamin fortified.

Emergency Relief - Second Harvest North Florida works within the structure of the Emergen-cy Operations Center in Jacksonville in the event of a disaster. Second Harvest is responsible for providing water, ice and food products to distribu-tion sites that are established by the EOC.

For more information or to volunteer, donate food or host a food drive, call 904.353.3663 (FOOD)

SECOND HARVEST PROFILEExecutive Director:

Thomas Mantz (tmantz@WeNourishHope.org)

Program Founded: 1979

2008-09 Expenses: $3,287,061

2009-10 Budget: $3,405,043Employees:

19

Pounds of Food Distribution: • 2008: 7,650,409 • 2009: 10,337,448

Volunteer Info: • 2008 Volunteers: 4,051 • 2008 Hours: 14,060

• 2009 Volunteers: 4,332 • 2009 Hours: 17,187

SECOND HARVEST NORTH FLORIDA: HOW WE SERVE PEOPLE IN NEED

2007-09 POUNDAGE DISTRIBUTION COMPARISON

2009 NOTABLES

Second Harvest distributed 10.3 million pounds of food to • its more than 500 member agencies in 2009, which was a nearly 30 percent increase from 2008. That equates to nearly 250,000 pounds distributed per week and more than eight million meals over the course of the year.

Second Harvest’s children’s programs enjoyed one of their • most successful years to date. The Kids Cafe program operat-ed at 65 combined sites during the school year and at 37 sites during the summer months. The Kids Cafe after-school snack program served 324,974 snacks from September-May. The Summer Meals Program served 101,009 lunches and 24,331 snacks. The BackPack program, which provides children with meals and food resources for weekends and holidays when school is not in session, grew from 150 in January to more than 650 by year’s end.

The National Association of Letter-Carriers “Stamp • Out Hun-ger” food drive was a rousing success — resulting in the collec-tion of a record 325,000 pounds of donated food that was left by mailboxes around the First Coast and collected by postal workers (increase of more than 38,000 pounds from 2008).

Second Harvest benefited from two special fundraising events • in 2008-09 — producing record returns at the 24th and 25th Annual Empty Bowls luncheons in November 2008 and 2009 and the 19th Annual Jacksonville FOODFIGHT in June 2009. Each of the three events generated more than $75,000 in proceeds and 1,200 in attendance.

Second Harvest • held eight Mobile Pantry distribu-tions in 2009, providing 140,027 pounds of food combined at the events, effectively helping to reach out to those in need by taking resources to their neighborhoods for direct distribution.

Second Harvest was a popular destination for • local volunteers, with 4,332 individuals donating a total of 17,187 hours in 2009.

Of the $3,413,313 in revenue generated by Second • Harvest in 2008- 09, 32.9 percent was from federal/state and local grants, 28.4 percent from fees for ser-vices, 31 percent from foundations, private grants and individual donations, and 7.6 percent from special events.

Physical improvements in the Jessie Street facility – including • the addition of new inside lighting, new sharing floor refrigera-tion units, a new industrial quality freezer and freshly painted walls from end to end – enhanced the ability of staff members to operate more efficiently, member agencies to gain ac-cess to resources and the overall capacity of the facility to increase.

Second Harvest North Florida Service Area

MadisonHamilton

Suwannee

Lafayette

ColumbiaBaker

Union

Gilchrist

Dixie

Levy

Alachua

BradfordClay

Putnam

Duval

Nassau

St. Johns

Flagler

In homes, workplaces and schools across north Florida, tens of thousands don’t know where they will find their next meal. At the same time,

choices are being faced by thousands of families that they never thought possible: Prescriptions or food? Utilities or meals? Gas or supper? The answers do not come easy, but Second Harvest North Florida is managing to offer hope to many who otherwise would do without. For the past 30 years, Second Harvest has given sustenance, security and hope to people and families struggling with hunger in north Florida. As the area’s only full-service food bank, Second Harvest has a unique capacity—and responsibility—to meet the challenge of hunger in our community. Need increases each day throughout the community – requiring bold action. Second Harvest is leading the fight as it has for the last 30 years, working to ensure that those among us who are

hungry receive the nourishment they need in order to get back on their feet. Consider that the economic crisis has catapulted the number of Americans who lack enough food to the highest level since the government began tracking such numbers – with nearly 50 million people, including almost one in four children, struggling to get enough to eat as 2009 concludes. One in six adults will go hungry each day in 2010 – a number also on the rise. U.S. Department of Agriculture reports show that dependable access to adequate food has especially deteriorated among families with children. In 2008, nearly 17 million children, or 22.5 percent, lived in households in which food at times was scarce — 4 million children more than the year before. And the number of youngsters who sometimes were outright hungry rose from nearly 700,000 to almost 1.1 million. At the same time,

millions of older Americans quietly struggle with hunger amid a combination of fixed incomes and health care expenses. Second Harvest’s distribution network, programs and community partnerships make it possible to conceive of a community in which no person or family lacks access to nutritious food and all surplus food reaches those homes in need. In the neighborhoods with the greatest need, the greatest obstacle to adequate and healthy food is the lack of grocery stores. These neighborhoods are known as food deserts, areas with no real grocery stores, but instead, an abundance of fast-food and convenience stores full of over-processed, high fat content, high calorie foods. In 2009, Second Harvest launched a variety of programs designed to help address the lack of nutritious food in these areas, highlighted by the ones that are detailed below:

Schell-Sweet Center Food Distribution Food resources are distributed once per month at the Schell-Sweet Community Resource Center to prescreened seniors and families experiencing sig-nificant need. Each month, 170 bags of food are distributed from the center through a collaborative effort of Second Harvest, PSI Family Services and the New Town Success Zone. Senior citizens living on low, fixed incomes are primarily served through the program. The major goal is to improve nutrition for the people served. Each month, new house-holds are served. Residents in the area are almost always living on a fixed income, meaning that their food supply can run low by the end of the month. Fresh fruits and vegetables are often distributed, along with nonperishable food items and bread.

Healthy Food For Mothers, Nutrition For Babies Program at Shands Hospital Second Harvest partnered with Shands Jack-sonville beginning in October 2009 to provide nutritious foods, such as fruits and vegetables, to expectant mothers. Beginning Wednesday, Oct. 14, new patients were given a 10-pound bag of nu-tritious food following their first obstetrics appoint-ment at the Shands Jacksonville OB/Gyn Clinic courtesy of Second Harvest North Florida. This initiative was the direct result of a 2008

JCCI study on infant mortality in Jacksonville. Ac-cording to the study, there is an exceedingly high death rate among children under the age of one in Jacksonville. The city’s infant mortality rate is the highest in Florida, exceeding the U.S. average and sadly those in many third-world countries. The program initially targeted new obstetric pa-tients, but the organizations hope to expand it to serve the more than 100 expectant mothers seen daily in the clinic.

Fresh Food For Families EBT/SNAP Program at Jacksonville Farmers Market Second Harvest launched the “Fresh Food for Families” program at the Jacksonville Farmers Market in November 2009. The program helps vendors accept Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards from low-income people to purchase food and plants and seeds to grow food for their house-holds.

With funding from The Chartrand Foundation, Fresh Food for Families is the collaborative effort of Second Harvest, the Department of Children and Families (DCF) and Beaver Street Fisheries, which owns the Jacksonville Farmers Market. The purpose of the program was to improve access by low-income families to fresh fruit and vegetables sold by local vendors at the Jackson-ville Farmers Market as one significant way to improve their nutrition level and health, especially women of childbearing age and their children living in the New Town Success Zone including zip codes 32206, 32208 and 32209. The Jackson-ville Farmers Market, located at 1810 W. Beaver Street in zip code 32209, is well located to provide healthy, nutritious food to these families, but, prior to the program’s launch, almost no vendors at the market accepted any form of payment other than cash, which prevents low-income people eligible for food stamp benefits from patronizing the market. Second Harvest worked with interested vendors to sign them up for free wireless point-of-sale terminals and pin pads that enable them to accept EBT, credit and debit cards for purchases. Each day Second Harvest works to find new and innovative ways to provide resources to those who are hurting. The newly implemented fresh food initiatives are a growing portion of the overall ap-proach. The numbers show that the effort is work-ing and advancements are being made – though the road ahead remains a challenge.

Living on a fixed income means that their food supply can get very low by the third or fourth week of the month. The fresh fruit and vegetables we are providing are hot items. You should see the happy faces.” – Marie Heath, executive director Schell-Sweet Resource Center

“It is hard for me right now. Second Harvest doing a program like this means my kids can eat healthy. I want them to eat right, but sometimes I can’t always afford to get what they want.” – Stephanie“ “