Serving Carroll, Holmes, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, Tuscarawas & Wayne Counties

A publication of the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank

DID YOU KNOW?1 in 4 kids in our area

is at risk of hunger.

SPR

ING

20

12

THE FOODBANK

FOCUS

350 Opportunity ParkwayAkron, OH 44307-2234

main: 330.535.6900fax: 330.996.5337

akroncantonfoodbank.org

BOARD OF DIRECTORSGeorge Sarkis, Chairman

Richard Wilson, Vice ChairmanPatricia Gibbs, TreasurerMark Purtilar, Secretary

Shelly Allio Robert BenderChris CoughlinJames Deluca

Michael J. DowlingLia Easler

Kristin HannonSuzanne HobsonMichael LapidesMichael MoldvayPamela Simpson Bernett Williams

Jan Wojno

Daniel R. FlowersPRESIDENT & CEO

You are giving new hopeThe air is fresh. Plants are stirring from their winter slumber, and new life is all around us. Mary, a grandmother of six, originally from Cleveland, finds herself optimistic of what this new season will bring her.

By looking at Mary in her white blazer and pearls you would not believe the difficult times she has endured this past year. Mary suffers from severe osteoporosis and osteoarthritis that has left her dependent on a motorized chair and no longer able to work. One year ago, Mary and her husband, who were separated, came to Canton to look at an apartment for Mary. While she was touring the apartment, her husband drove away and abandoned her. He disappeared, leaving Mary without her chair, any money, food or a place to stay.

Mary shared that at that moment she felt very scared and helpless. She turned to a friend for immediate comfort, but later reached out to local agencies for clothes, food and guidance on how to rebuild her life.

Thankfully, Refuge of Hope, an agency that receives food from the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, was there to help Mary in her time of need. Daily meal services helped Mary regain her strength and positive attitude. Mary said, “This place is a lifesaver for me. I don’t know what I would do without it.”

Spring is a season of change and a time of renewed hope. Because of your generosity, today, Mary is brimming with confidence and hope, embracing the many possibilities of her new life.

Sourcing & distributing more fresh produceThe Foodbank is doing more to address hunger and malnutrition in our community and is committed to increasing the amount of free, fresh produce distributed to mem-ber agencies and those strug-gling with hunger. As a part of this commitment, the Foodbank has established a goal of sourcing and distributing five million pounds of fresh produce by the end of the year, an additional one mil-lion pounds over 2011.

To accomplish this ambi-tious goal, the Foodbank will increase the amount of produce sourced from the USDA and Ohio Agriculture Program as well as accessing fresh produce through Feeding America and purchasing it from local farmers.

“Our goal is ensure no one in our com-munity goes hungry, but ultimately, we

want them to have access to the most nutritious food possible,” said Dan Flow-ers, President and CEO of the Foodbank.

Access to nutritious foods is vital in main-taining good health. Studies

show that growing chil-dren need a balance of

vitamins and minerals for cognitive and behavioral development. As the Foodbank embarks on

this new strategic initia-tive and places a strong

emphasis on sourcing and distributing fresh, nutritious

produce, we are dedicated to being a reliable source of healthy

foods for families at risk of hunger.

The Foodbank would not be able to continue this critical work and provide nutritious foods without the support of our community. Your food and fund donations are leading the ef-forts to creating a hunger-free community.

CORPORATE & FOUNDATION

GIFTSAkron Children’s Hospital Employee Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$2,795

American Assn. Of Healthcare Administrative Mgmt.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,322

Ameriprise Financial Services . . . . . . $5,000

Anonymous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35,000

Applebee’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$6,635

Applied Vision Services Corporation $1,000

Belden Brick Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1,000

Bemis Company Foundation . . . . . . . $5,000

Catholic Health Partners . . . . . . . . . $10,000

Charles E. & Mabel M. Ritchie Memorial Foundation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6,000

Deerfield Farms Service, Inc. . . . . . . . $2,000

Diebold Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000

Dominion East Ohio Foundation . . . $5,000

George H. Deuble Foundation. . . . . . $8,600

Haslinger Family Foundation . . . . . $25,800

Herbert A. and Jean S. Jones Charitable Trust Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1,000

Interim Healthcare Fund of The Columbus Foundation. . . . . . . . . $2,000

John W. and Juanita E. Sanders Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,000

Knezevich & Foerster LLC. . . . . . . . . . .$1,000

Kokosing Materials, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1,840

Kovatch Castings, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1,000

Laura R. & Lucian Q. Moffitt Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,000

Lloyd L . and Louise K . Smith Memorial Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . $10,000

Medical Physics, Ltd.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1,200

Ohio Health Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1,000

Sequoia Financial Group, LLC . . . . $20,000

Sheehan Family Charitable Fund in Stark Community Foundation. . . . .$1,000

Sisters of Charity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1,000

Taylor Tele-Communications, Inc. . . . .$1,000

The Ahmed Family Charitable Fund .$1,000

The Bruce and Erica Greer Family Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,000

The J .M . Smucker Company . . . . . . $35,000

The Pastore Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000

The Robert O . and Annamae Orr Family Foundation . . . . . . . . . . $30,000

The Sterling Family Foundation . . . . $5,000

W. Paul & Thora J. Mills Memorial Foundation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6,000

Wagler Foundation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,000

Walmart Store Community Grants . $13,354

WEWS NewsChannel5 and the Scripps Howard Foundation . . . . . . . $8,000

Frosty key tags support the FoodbankThe Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank is receiving a donation from proceeds of the recent sales of Frosty Key Tags at local Wendy’s restaurants in the Akron area as well as Portage and Stark County. We are grateful to have the support of local Wendy’s franchise, AKWEN, LTD., to help in the fight to end hunger in our community. Show your key tag every time you order and get one FREE Jr. Frosty per transaction, per visit with any purchase through 8/31/2012.

Be an advocateAs an advocate, you can play a significant role in our mission to Feed People and Fight Hunger. Please visit our website and click on the “Get Involved” tab to sign up for the Advocacy Network. The need for advocacy is great and the time to take action is now. As an advocate, you will receive special alerts when grassroots action is needed to:

• Contactlegislatorsregardingimportanthungerandpoverty-relatedissues• Spreadthewordthroughsocialmediaandface-to-facecontact• ParticipateinspecialeventswithotherFoodbankadvocates• Attendanevent,rallyortownhallmeeting• Recruitnewmembersorvolunteers

It’s easy to Stamp Out HungerOn Saturday, May 12th, the Foodbank will join services with the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) and the Campbell Soup Company to Stamp Out Hunger. Now in its 20th year, the Stamp Out Hunger effort is the nation’s largest single-day food drive, with more than one billion pounds of food donated since its inception in 1993. Simply leave donations of non-perishable food items next to your mailbox before the time of your regular mail delivery. Your letter carrier will do the rest, collecting the donations and delivering them to the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank.

Wrapping up Harvest for HungerHunger is closer than you think, but your support of the Harvest for Hunger campaign moves us closer to a solution. Finishing up its 21st year of fighting hunger in Northeast Ohio, the Harvest for Hunger Campaign continues to be one of the largest food and funds drives in the country. The Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank is one of four food banks that hosts the 21-county drive every spring. This year, more than 350 local businesses, schools, churches and other organizations joined the cause by hosting individual food and funds drives to benefit the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank.

The Foodbank was honored to have two respected local leaders from the health care industry who are committed to the well-being of our community as Harvest for Hunger Campaign Co-Chairs. William H. Considine, President & CEO of Akron Children’s Hospital and Edward J. Roth III, President & CEO of Aultman Health Foundation led the Campaign, helping the Foodbank meet its goal to raise $865,000 for local individuals and families facing hunger.

Throughout the Campaign several events took place to raise much needed food and funds. Thank you to all who participated in the Harvest for Hunger Celebrity Bagger event, Harvest for Hunger Idol, Soup For

You and other events held within businesses

and organizations. One-hundred percent of

all Harvest for Hunger donations are used

for programs and services that specifically

provide food at no cost to those in need!

Thank you to everyone who had a hand in

this year’s Harvest for Hunger Campaign,

including our generous campaign partners:

• AkronBeaconJournal

• AkronCivicTheatre

• Buehler’sFreshFoods

• Dave’sSupermarkets

• FirstMeritBank

• FishersFoods

• GiantEagle

• GlenmoorCountryClub

• Heinen’sFineFoods

• TheIndependent

• NewspaperinEducation

• TheRepository

• StarkAreaRegionalTransitAuthority

• TheSuburbanite

• TheTimes-Reporter

• UFCWLocal880

• UnitedWayofSummitCounty

• Wendy’s

• WHLO640News

• WHOFMy101.7

• WKDD98.1

• WRQK106.9

WE NEED YOUR HELP THIS SPRING

Akron Area Interfaith Council

Walk To Stop Hunger

MAY 6

Harvest for Hunger

Wrap Up Celebration

MAY 18, 2:00 PM

Stamp Out Hunger

MAY 12

AIA Akron

CANstruction Display

JUNE 1 - 30

CORE

Young Professionals Event

JUNE 21

Plant a Row for the Hungry

ThROUGh SEPTEMBER 31

For event details, visit

akroncantonfoodbank.org

Plant a Row For The HungryDo you plant a garden or have a farm? When gardening, you often end up growing more items than you can use, so rather than letting this surplus go to waste, why not share it with those in need? Through our Plant a Row for the Hungry program, you can help individuals in your neighborhood struggling with hunger by donating your excess harvest to the Foodbank. Last year, local gardeners donated 16,844 pounds of fresh, nutritious produce.

Participating in the program is simple. Take your donation to any of several drop-off sites from June 1 until September 31. Visit akroncantonfoodbank.org/plant-a-row.aspx for a list of sites.

SAVE THE DATE

09.18.12

If you know anyone who might be interested in receiving this newsletter, or if you would like to be removed from this mailing list, please contact the Marketing Department at info@acrfb.org or 330.535.6900. Thank you for joining the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank in the fight to end hunger.

Flagpole dedicated to long-time Foodbanker On February 23, 2012, the Foodbank honored Clark C. Bennett for his service to our country and our community. At the age of 18, Clark registered for the draft and was sent to Fort Laudin in Seattle, Washington for basic training. After completing basic training, he was deployed to North Africa, then sent to India for assignment. Clark served in WWII and the Korean War, where he was a Front Line Machine Gunner. He also spent time in Germany and Japan before his return to the United States. In 1951, Clark was assigned to the Presidential Honor Guard in Washington DC, and on many occasions met President Eisenhower. Later, he was again deployed to North Korea until his final return to the U.S.

Once Clark returned from combat, he began a career at Firestone Tire Company, where he worked for forty years. After retiring from Firestone, he began a new journey in 1986 with the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank. Twenty-six years later, Clark is the senior-most employee at the Foodbank, and the only employee who has worked at all three Foodbank locations.

Clark is a part of the history of our organization. His contributions to our country and this Foodbank are an inspiration to all of us. We are proud to celebrate what Clark has accomplished and dedicate the flagpole in his honor.

Join CORE in 2012 for three

volunteer projects followed by an

opportunity to network and learn

about the Foodbank. Snacks and

drinks will be provided by our

generous 2012 series sponsor.

Volunteer projects may include

sorting, inspecting and repacking

various food items in our warehouse

as well as calling and writing to

thank our donors. Close-toed shoes

are required in the warehouse.

CORE is made up of motivated, energetic

young professionals interested in growing

their professional network while actively

giving back to the community in which

they live or work by helping feed the

hungry in our area.

PLEASE JOIN US IN 2012

VOLUNTEER4:30-6PM•NETWORK6-7PM350 OPPORTUNITY PKWY • AKRON, OH 44307

LEARN MORE OR RSVP ONLINE AT akroncantonfoodbank.org/core.aspx.

JUN

21AUG

7NOV

8

Young Professionals.

Making connections. Making a difference.

INTRODUCING THE AKRON-CANTON REGIONAL FOODBANK’S NEW GROUP FOR YOUNG PROFESSIONALS