Second Harvest Food Bank

Second Harvest Food Bank September 2008 - 4

kpaul.mallasch — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:44:26 -0700

Second Harvest Column

Second Harvest Food Bank September 2008 - 3

kpaul.mallasch — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:44:26 -0700

Second Harvest Column

Second Harvest Food Bank September 2008 - 2

kpaul.mallasch — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:44:26 -0700

Second Harvest Column

Second Harvest Food Bank September 2008 - 1

kpaul.mallasch — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:44:23 -0700

Second Harvest Food Bank September 2008 - 1

Second Harvest Column

Second Harvest Column: Events Went Quite Well

kpaul.mallasch — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:39:20 -0700

By Lois Rockhill

If you were there, you know that the Second Harvest Food Bank events of Sept. 17 turned out quite well. Our operations director Joe Fox and his staff are still receiving kudos for having the facilities looking so good. The warehouse is always clean and orderly but there was a "spit and shine" to it last week that was remarkable!

Tiffany Jones and her assistants pulled the events together with all the unseen but necessary support. Susan Land, who is our very new development associate, saw to it that all the details were covered.

Erin Rockhill heard good comments, too, on the agency seminars that began the afternoon. Volunteers and staff from all of the programs we serve were invited to participate in this annual event. This year the format was set as a backdrop to the dedication of the warehouse and the 25th anniversary celebration giving our partnering agencies the opportunity to take part in all.

We figured we had 100 people attend the outdoor ribbon-cutting ceremony. Pay Less Super Market managers Mike Chase and Joyce Turner presented a beautiful basket of flowers before the ceremony. Board Chair Brad Condon welcomed everyone and introduced the participants. Sen. Lugar sent a letter of congratulations read by his Indiana state director, Lesley Reser. Indiana state Sen. Sue Errington and state Rep. Terri Austin commented on the occasion. They were followed by Anderson’s chairman of the Board of Public Works, Greg Graham. Muncie Mayor Sharon McShurley read a city proclamation naming Sept. 17 Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana day. Founding board member John Cooper and Rich Spisak program director with Ball Brothers Foundation were introduced and joined the others in a group ribbon cutting while yours truly did the countdown to synchronize those eight scissor snips.

The crowd moved indoors for tours with many taking time to participate in the volunteer activity. Benefactors and representatives of agencies benefiting from our services stood shoulder to shoulder with other friends of Second Harvest packing individual Kool-Aid packets into plastic bowls. Some of these volunteers were very task-oriented, and it was hard to pull them away for dinner.

Those taking the tours were ushered into the mammoth freezer and refrigerator. They walked down the aisles of the dry storage area and took a look at the huge inventory on hand. They were shown into the area of the building designated for renovations for offices where Associate Director Tim Kean had measured off and taped the outline of each room on the floor repeating the blueprint visual provided by architect Mike Ellis.

By the time the dinner bell rang, we had close to 200 people at the tables set up in the warehouse. Troy Brown from Wal-Mart’s corporate office provided burgundy mums for the occasion — matching the napkins that Tim Tuhey from Cintas provided along with white table cloths. Shiny galvanized buckets donated by Lowes centered the tables holding iced drinks for the diners.

Appetizers of peach cheese balls, corn chowder shooters and my favorite — a pasta salad made with spaghetti had already been served. Tim Kean walked the diners through the dinner menu and how to approach the food stations. A harpist made beautiful music while we all enjoyed a meal created and prepared by area chefs at the Ball State laboratory kitchen.

Our program included a history of Second Harvest Food Bank and a challenge by Steve Anderson to keep the organization moving forward. Brad Condon introduced the public portion of the campaign, Second Harvest on the Move, A Region Responds to Ending Hunger. Brad announced that the campaign team had already raised $2.7 million of the $4 million goal that includes $2.5 million for capital, $1 million for endowment and $500,000 for programs.

As we invited our guests to help move us into the future, we were able to offer the exciting incentive of the Kresge Challenge Grant. The Kresge Foundation pledged a $400,000 challenge grant payable after $800,000 more is raised! Every dollar given to capital and program will increase in value to $1.50. Every $10,000 gift will multiply to $15,000! It was a good way to end the evening and to focus our sights on the work ahead of ending hunger and feeding hope for our struggling neighbors in East Central Indiana.

Lois Rockhill is executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana. She can be reached at lrockhill@curehunger.org.

Second Harvest Column: Hunger Action Month

kpaul.mallasch — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 18:09:37 -0700

By Lois Rockhill

September is Hunger Action Month. Activities throughout the nation will focus on taking action to end hunger or to mobilize energy and resources around ways individuals, churches, clubs, businesses and organizations can make a difference for hungry people in their communities.

Here in east central Indiana, Second Harvest Food Bank is focusing on Sept. 17. We want everyone to come over to our new place for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 4:30 p.m. and then stay for tours and Dinner on the Dock at 6 p.m. Be ready for a big announcement about our capital campaign.

But that’s not all we have going on that day.

Beginning at 1 p.m., we will have three educational sessions geared to the pantries and other programs we serve. We are tying our annual agency conference in with the festivities and inviting all who are interested to participate.

At 1 p.m., we will consider whether it will be better or worse in our region in the next four or five years for low-income residents. Dr. Eric Kelly is our presenter. He is a planner, lawyer and professor of urban planning at Ball State University. Eric was appointed to the Indiana Land Resources Council in 1999. He consults on planning issues with local governments around the country and was recently elected chairman of the six-member Muncie-Delaware County Government Reorganization Committee.

Pantries continue to report increasing numbers of people requesting food assistance. What will the future hold for already strained charities? What must we consider as we think about building capacity to sustain and increase service? We look forward to Eric’s predictions.

The second session at 2 p.m. will be led by Erin Rockhill. Erin will introduce the national hunger study that will be in full-force early next year. She is director of agency relations and program development at Second Harvest Food Bank. She coordinated the 1997 hunger study while serving as an AmeriCorps volunteer with Second Harvest. She also oversaw the 2006 study as a staff member. Erin serves on the national Feeding America Advisory Council for the upcoming study.

The national hunger study orchestrated by Feeding America has a tremendous impact on federal legislation. The data describes the lives of people using local food assistance programs in terms of income, employment, health and family makeup. These studies have put a face on hunger and helped communities understand what low-income residents are up against. We will utilize volunteers from each county to visit pantries and kitchens to conduct 15- to 20-minute interviews with clients. The results will come back to us in national, state and regional reports.

Lois Altman will present the final session, and it will be all about food. Lois is currently an associate and assistant professor in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences at Ball State University. Her experience as a pastry chef, and the owner of Menu Classics in Indianapolis, as well as her degree from the Culinary Institute of America, should assure all that her contribution to this session will be both informative and tasty. Lois will tackle the Second Harvest Food Bank inventory and present agency attendees with ideas for and tastes of nutritious menus.

Everyone is invited to these special sessions. There is no fee to attend. Please plan to stay for the ribbon-cutting and join us for Dinner on the Dock. Lois, along with area chefs, has come up with our dinner menu. You can expect corn chowder shooters, mini pasta salads, Caribbean grilled ham with mango sauce, potato/cauliflower gratinee, fruit mousse cones with brownie bites, caramel bread pudding with warm apples and more. Remember, no cost, casual, open to all, but please call to reserve your seats! (765) 287-8698 ext. 100. Find a map to our place at www.curehunger.org.

Lois Rockhill is executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana. She can be reached at lrockhill@curehunger.org.

Lois Rockhill Responds to Newspaper Article re: Selling Donated Food

kpaul.mallasch — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:47:04 -0700

By Lois Rockhill

I saw it again in a recent newspaper article. The reference to buying food from Second Harvest Food Bank. It’s a hard concept to challenge as money does in deed change hands! But here’s the deal. We do not sell donated food. Yes, money is paid out, but donated food is not sold. The transaction is called a shared maintenance fee, sometimes referred to as a handling fee.

The idea is that the pantries, kitchens, shelters, child-care centers, rehab, residential, senior and youth programs that agree to partner with us also agree to help support the cost of getting food. Not buying food, getting food. We become a food solicitation arm of each program. We arrange to find donated food from all over the nation and haul it to our central warehouse. Once it is here, we are mandated to store it and handle it safely. Then we make it available to these east central Indiana charities, most often delivering it to their doors.

All this costs plenty of money. We have a staff of paid employees, a facility with upkeep and utilities, vehicles demanding repair, maintenance, insurance and fuel, inbound freight costs and much, much more. This year we will spend $900,000 helping local charities feed needy neighbors.

Before you gasp at that cost, think of the return. We are on track to distribute 4.2 million pounds of food and product by the end of 2008. The average wholesale value of this inventory will be more than $6 million! Now back to that handling fee. The cap is set by our national office, Feeding America. They are advised by the IRS. The fee cannot be related to the value of the food. The fee was just increased by a penny and is now capped at 19 cents per pound.

You do the math. If we could charge the full handling fee on all the products we distribute we would be very close to meeting expenses just from that one source. My job would certainly be a lot easier! But, this cannot happen. The market will not bear it. Pantries and meal programs are hard pressed to come up with enough money to cover a fourth of the approved fee. It falls on Second Harvest to raise the rest.

With that responsibility, we become not only a food solicitation arm for the charities we serve but a fundraising arm as well. In order to provide food for their programs we must raise most of the money the system was designed for them to contribute!

It’s not such a bad idea. A centralized warehouse and a centralized fundraising function. Just as a food donor finds it most efficient to donate to one entity which disperses the product, a funding organization can do the same. United Way has often chosen that path. By funding Second Harvest, they are supporting local charities that reach out with food assistance to low-income residents throughout their county.

The system works best when the charities involved practice the Waste Not, Want Not concept that John Arnold in Grand Rapids, Mich., worked out. This is the idea that the community would be served best if all pantries relied 100 percent on their regional food bank (that would be Second Harvest here in east central Indiana).

The largest pantries in our eight-county service area are Waste Not, Want Not. They use the dollars from their supporters to pay the handling fees for donated food. That’s it. Whatever Second Harvest has is what they distribute to their clients. The clients choose the items they can use and fill in their meal plans with food stamp purchases or money from their own pockets.

The result is that everybody’s dollar goes further. If someone donates a dollar to the food pantry, instead of spending it on a can of soup, they can pay a handling fee at Second Harvest and get five or six cans of soup. If we don’t have soup, they could get even more servings of chicken bullion or dry-pack meals because they weigh less!

So that’s the story. Second Harvest Food Bank does not sell donated food. We never have. We never will.

Lois Rockhill is executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana. She can be reached at lrockhill@curehunger.org.

Second Harvest: Hunger Action Month

kpaul.mallasch — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:43:37 -0700

By Lois Rockhill

September is Hunger Action Month. How are you planning to participate? Food drive? Fundraising? Volunteering? Guest speaker? It would be a great time to involve your business, church, family, club or service organization in an activity that addresses hunger.

Feeding America, formerly America’s Second Harvest, has organized Hunger Awareness Day for years. Here in east central Indiana, Second Harvest Food Bank did region wide Tailgate Program distributions in each county to bring awareness to the issue of hunger.

Hunger in America and here in east central Indiana is not easily recognized. You may see someone ahead of you in the grocery line using food stamps. Your church or community organization may sponsor a food pantry or a soup kitchen. Even so, you may not know that 23,538 households in Blackford, Delaware, Grant, Henry, Jay, Madison, Randolph and Wabash counties spent $5.5 million in food stamps last month in an effort to feed themselves and their children. You may not realize that 9,700 of your neighbors in these eight counties ate food from a food pantry or soup kitchen last week and that 35 percent were under the age of 18.

Second Harvest Food Bank’s Tailgate Program has opened eyes in each of these counties. When residents in need line up 100 cars deep to wait for food assistance, others in the community take note. Many are shocked. They report back to us that they just did not know that so many in their town were struggling to make ends meet. Area pantries have provided food assistance for years. They have done so behind closed doors. The Tailgate Program held in an open-air venue certainly tells the tale of need.

This year we are being challenged to take action. Awareness is critical but hunger is a problem that calls for immediate action. This year we want you to do something about it during the month of September.

Here are some ideas:

1. Phone Tiffany Jones at (765) 287-8698 or e-mail foodbank@curehunger.org and register to attend our big day Sept. 17 with a ribbon-cutting at 4:30 p.m., a volunteer activity following, and Dinner on the Dock at 6 p.m.

2. Go to our Web site at www.curehunger.org and locate the list of pantries in each county. Call one and volunteer to help. You can also get this information by dialing 2-1-1.

3. Skip Lunch for Hunger — donate the amount of money you would spend on buying lunch for one day, week or month to support the fight against hunger. To do this at work you might distribute copies of the menu from a popular lunch location near the office and have employees donate the cost of the item they would have ordered for lunch.

4. Hold a Non-Event — there is nothing better than a function you do not have to attend. You are asking participants to be part of the fight against hunger by not coming to your function and making a donation to feed hungry Americans instead. This idea can be done with business meetings, dinners, auctions, golf tournaments, costume contests, 5K run/walk, all that never actually happen!

5. Jeans Days — If your office has a dress code that prohibits jeans or casual dress, find out if you can have Jeans or Casual Dress Days or month. Ask your employees to pay $5 per day for the opportunity to wear their jeans to work. Donate the proceeds to help feed hungry Americans.

6. Pledge 100 percent employee participation in your local United Way/Fund campaign. Check the list of programs, agencies and initiatives funded to see how hunger is addressed.

I know this is only a start. There are many actions you can take to end hunger in your community. We all know that good jobs, decent benefits, dependable transportation, affordable health care, nurturing childcare, responsible eldercare are all components to self-sufficiency. As our communities work toward these necessary accomplishments, we must ensure that our neighbors have enough to eat. Please reach out. Take action. Raise your voice against hunger.

Lois Rockhill is executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana. She can be reached at lrockhill@curehunger.org

Second Harvest Column

kpaul.mallasch — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 08:07:07 -0700

By Lois Rockhill

Everything we do at Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana is done with a picture in our heads and hearts. The picture is of a child, a family, a senior — a neighbor who has food on the table because of the resources we are able to gather and provide. With 9,300 low-income people using pantries and kitchens every week in this area, the faces of hunger are important to keep in mind.

Kids are eating this summer at 14 sites in four counties because Second Harvest has joined the group of Summer Food sponsors. That means tummies are full and parents less stressed knowing their children have lunch. Some sites are providing breakfast, lunch and snack, as well as a day full of activities and supervision. Kids Cafe is continuing through the summer in some locations. We distributed 10,000 pounds of food for children’s meals in May alone.

More than a hundred charitable programs in eight counties are better able to provide meals, shelter, child care, senior programs, youth programs, rehabilitation and pantry services with the food and products we secure from our region and throughout the nation. This helps program clients directly and takes some weight off of the organizations’ budgets. What they get from Second Harvest for a minimal contribution allows them to use their scarce dollars for other necessities. Last month, we provided nearly 200,000 pounds of donated food, valued at $338,000, to help local programs.

Our Second Harvest tailgate distribution relieves local pantries while providing a half dozen items to families in each county once every month. This outdoor, drive-through pantry enables Second Harvest to get lots of fresh produce, beverages and dairy to people in need very quickly. In May, more than 88,000 pounds of food was distributed through the Tailgate Program reaching more than 3,000 area families.

Our contract with the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs enables us to provide a wonderful mix of government commodities to more than 50 pantries in East Central Indiana. We receive the USDA food and deliver it every two months or so for pantries to distribute to their clients. The products include canned and dried fruits, canned vegetables, fruit juice, rice, cereal, dried beans, meat, poultry, fish, pasta products, soups, baking mix and peanut butter. Second Harvest Food Bank delivered 118,144 pounds of this highly desirable product to pantries in East Central Indiana in May.

Second Harvest Food Bank does this good work with the help of the community. At a cost of 22 cents per pound of food, Second Harvest depends on United Way, individual and corporate donations, agency contributions, special events, foundation grants and some government funds to pay the bills.

Food donations are very important to keep the warehouse full and hungry people in our communities fed. Last month, the Letter Carriers Food Drive brought in nearly 60,000 pounds to our warehouse for Madison County agencies and 100,000 pounds more directly to agencies in the remaining seven counties.

Nestlé provided more than 20,000 pounds of product to Second Harvest in May. Wal-Mart donated 12,400 pounds of food from their Gas City distribution center. Prairie Farms donated 6,983 pounds, and Marsh’s perishable food warehouse provided almost 6,500 pounds of product for hunger relief through Second Harvest Food Bank. America’s Second Harvest, the nation’s food bank network, helped us obtain 40,000 pounds of potatoes as well as large loads from Procter & Gamble, Kellogg and NutriSystem.

Help also came in the form of volunteers from Comcast Cable, Ball State University, Yorktown High School and many individuals including Rep. Terri Austin, District 36. Some 185 volunteers gave 1,111 hours to help Second Harvest alleviate hunger in east central Indiana last month.

This snapshot of May 2008 is similar to every month of the year. With 49,000 people in east central Indiana living in poverty and many more balancing on the edge, our work is critical and dependent on the goodwill of community members. Our thanks to all who play a part in helping Second Harvest Food Bank make east central Indiana a community that cares for its most vulnerable residents.

Lois Rockhill is Executive Director of Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana, Inc.

Second Harvest: Homeward Bound

kpaul.mallasch — Wed, 2 Apr 2008 10:35:09 -0700

By Lois Rockhill

Evelyn Goode is the spokeswoman for Homeward Bound for East Central Indiana. Her story serves to motivate community groups and individuals to raise funds for hunger and homelessness. It’s best to read her story in her own words. Go to our Second Harvest Food Bank website at www.curehunger.org, click on the ‘related links’ tab and then on Homeward Bound. Once on the statewide site, go to the map and choose East Central Indiana

Evelyn tells the story of her own personal struggle as a young mother of five making the difficult decision to leave a marriage destroyed by addiction. “The breaking point was after Christmas of 1993. My children ranged in age from 4 years to eleven. With no tree, no presents, and no Christmas dinner, I decided to try and get help.”

From that point of action, Evelyn’s story goes on to recount challenges overcome by her own determination and with the help of others. Today she holds a university degree and a position of responsibility at a local bank. “I wake up everyday accepting that there are things in life I can’t control and knowing that it is how I choose to react that determines my destiny.”

Thousands of Hoosiers will choose to react to stories like Evelyn’s by walking this month in a statewide event called Homeward Bound. Here in our region the walk will take place in Chesterfield at noon on April 27. There are 14 agencies from Delaware and Madison County that are benefiting from the walk. All are looking for team members.

Second Harvest has broadened the field by encouraging all the agencies we serve in eight counties to form a team under our auspices. Their team will raise money to help leverage more food from Second Harvest. Pantries and meal programs getting food from Second Harvest help defray the food bank’s cost of obtaining, storing and delivering the products to them by contributing a portion of the total cost. Homeward Bound funds from designated teams will help them with this.

Other teams will raise money to help organizations provide housing, shelter and supportive services. This is an opportunity for businesses, schools, churches and other groups to support the work that goes on every day to provide for people in their moment of need. Evelyn’s story shared so bravely and generously, shows what a difference we make in the lives of others when we step forward to offer our support.

While you are putting dates on the calendar, please add a note to May 10. That is the date of the largest one day food drive in the nation! The Letter Carriers Food Drive requires very little from the community. They do it all for you!

All you have to do is select canned goods from your kitchen shelf, put them in a plastic bag and set it out by your mailbox that morning. Volunteers, letter carriers, rural carriers, post office staff will all be joining together to pick up your donations and see that they get to a pantry in your town.

Lois Rockhill is Executive Director of Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana, Inc

Second Harvest Column: Hillary Clinton at the Wigwam

kpaul.mallasch — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:48:16 -0700

By Lois Rockhill

I have not committed to a candidate for U.S. president. That did not stop me from standing in the long line to get into the Anderson Wigwam to see Hillary Clinton. The line itself was inspirational. So many young people. So many women. “Pantsuits are Awesome,” read a sign in the crowd.

I took my grandson Nathan. I wanted him to know that the little girls in his kindergarten class could grow up to be president. He knew about Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. I wanted him to know that a Hillary had the same opportunity. I told him about Barack Obama and said that children of color could be president when they grew up. I mentioned that John McCain was a candidate. Little white boys could grow up to be president too.

Being one in a crowd of 6,000, with time on my hands once Nathan stopped wiggling and before Hillary appeared, gave me opportunity to think about this cross section of our community. True that most were there because they agreed with party politics, it was also true that many differences were represented.

There wasn’t any way Hillary or any other candidate could speak to all the concerns we had. Jobs, education, bureaucracy issues, poverty, taxes — the list was unending. But we waited with interest to hear what it was she would promise. We waited and cheered her words of hope.

You might think it a stretch to compare that experience with the one I had on Saturday. I stood outside the Pay Less Super Market at Cross Street to remind shoppers that We Can Care. It was the day the Madison County Highway Department picked to do their part in the countywide food drive. The event was to help Second Harvest Food Bank stock the shelves of area pantries. I was there on that very cold day to support the effort.

The similarity was in the cross section of the community. True, people came for food, not politics. But they too responded to promises and hope. We promised to feed their neighbors in need and, with their help, to serve up hope with that food. We brought to their attention the fact that as a community, we can care for our own.

Not everyone needed reminded. Along with highway department employees Ivan and Gerrald and Zachary’s grandpa, we had volunteers from the Chesterfield Community Food Pantry and House of Hope at our location. I had people stop to stuff money in our Prairie Farms milk jug who worked at other human service agencies. We had people sign their names on the big green snow plow who have been longtime donors to Second Harvest and others who simply wanted to be known as people who care.

Every donation, food or funds, was heartfelt. Some gave out of their abundance and others sacrificially. A woman living in a shelter with her children dropped a box of treats into the collection box. A man stuffed a dollar in the jug. After he left I heard he was unemployed. His comment was that someone might need it worse than he.

On this sunny afternoon with the rhubarb and daffodils pushing through the warming sod, I am grateful for hope. I saw it last week in a crowd of people, eyes bright in anticipation of political promise. I saw it again in the response from shoppers who cared enough to take a positive action for neighbors in need of a helping hand. It was how that hope expressed by individuals became a community effort that was so powerful. It was clear to me that together we have tremendous impact for good.

Lois Rockhill is executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana. She can be reached at lrockhill@curehunger.org.

Second Harvest Column: Helpful Volunteers

kpaul.mallasch — Thu, 6 Mar 2008 22:28:25 -0800

By Lois Rockhill

You may have watched Oprah Winfrey’s “The Big Give” this past Sunday. Participants compete to come up with the most creative ways to take a given amount of money and other resources and multiply them before giving them away to help others.

Contestants applied a year ago to be on the show. They range in age from 22 to 43 years. They will face many challenges as they strive to outdo each other for the good of others. The idea is to change lives in five days with the help of a lot of money and, of course, Harpo Productions.

The commercials for the show are appealing. At least one reminds me of people right here in east central Indiana who are giving big and changing lives. Their stories inspire me. There are so many people practicing “The Big Give” spirit in our community that we would be hard pressed to choose only 10 as Oprah has.

“We Can Care” kicked off last week. The month-long Madison County food drive was started by Greg Graham, now Anderson’s chair of the Board of Works. Greg heard that pantry shelves were empty following the holidays and our neediest residents had to do without enough food. He responded to that need by inviting community leaders to back a countywide food drive. Years later, the drive has generated well over 600,000 pounds of food. Hungry people are being fed, and good citizens are finding this avenue open to their own big giving.

Jeanne Lee knows how to mobilize a community. She has been involved in Girl Scouts, Alternatives, the Madison County Community Foundation and now with Second Harvest Food Bank. She is reaching into all areas of our east central Indiana service area to pull together resources that will keep the food bank strong and functioning for many years to come. She is changing lives as she encourages people with resources to help insure that we will keep up the good work.

I think of Carol Trimmer with Indiana Public Radio and how she connected Second Harvest and IPR. Because she connected the dots, IPR listeners are reminded and challenged to give big – of themselves and of their resources to end hunger and feed hope.

Then there is Ginnette Tavzel, executive director of the United Way of Jay County, and Jenny Dennis, executive director of the United Fund of Henry County. Both women have taken the issue of hunger very seriously. They have worked to mobilize volunteers in their communities to help at Tailgate distributions. These are events where Second Harvest provides a truck load of food for a drive through distribution — a real boon to residents in need and a big help to supplement the on-going work of the local pantries.

Speaking of pantries, and we could easily add kitchens, shelters, child care programs and senior programs — our list of people who give big will grow tremendously as we count the women and men involved at each. Some are paid staff, most are volunteers. They work tirelessly to end hunger and feed hope. They network in their communities, mobilize and inspire big giving.

I have named only a few of the many people who are change agents in east central Indiana. I like to think of volunteers, advocates, food donors, service donors, fund donors and community activist who are all big givers here in our community. I hope Oprah’s “Big Give” will touch her viewers and inspire people who need a nudge to join the ranks of people who step up to make a difference.

We have wonderful models living and breathing among us. With Oprah to help spotlight big giving, I look forward to seeing the rolls swell. And remember, big is relative. Do your best to make a difference. Whether it is a can of food or a semi trailer load, a handful of pennies or a six-figure gift, someone will be better off because you gave as big as you could!

Lois Rockhill is Executive Director of Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana, Inc.

Second Harvest Column: Network of Human Kindness

kpaul.mallasch — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 02:12:39 -0800

By Lois Rockhill

This ongoing column is about hunger and poverty. I write about the part Second Harvest Food Bank plays in these issues. I try to point out, too, how each of us can advocate for stronger federal nutrition programs and how these programs positively impact the plight of our low-income residents.

It is usually an easy task to pick a subject and type away. Not this column. I am actually writing it during the Super Bowl just five days after my mother died here at my home. I am using a laptop. The screen has been blank for two hours and not because of any deep interest in the game. I have, it seems, energy only for grieving.

My mother was 93. She shared our home for more than eight years. She was confined to bed for the past three. I had lots of wonderful help caring for mom. My husband and daughter were terrific. Saint John’s Hospice and LifeStream provided critical services allowing us to keep Mom at home. She eventually qualified for a Medicaid waiver that picked up most of the costs for caretakers we hired.

Truthfully, it wasn’t easy. An evening out, vacation, an overnight or working late all required hard-to-do scheduling. Someone had to be at the house at all times. We’ll enjoy the freedom, once we get used to it. But we miss Mom, and we treasure the time we had together. As her health declined, her love for her family seemed to become more poignant.

During these years, I have thought often of other families. I wondered how people with already strained resources could manage to keep their loved one at home. I remembered how hard and time consuming it was to apply for the Medicaid waiver and to manage her care even with help.

Since Mom’s death, I have thought about the network of human kindness. Hearing from family and friends. Cards, flowers, visits. Kind words. People extending themselves to shore up a friend face to face with loss. Not unlike the kindness shown by so many when you hear that your neighbor is in need of food.

As I looked out over the crowd of people attending the Dream Ball Saturday night, I could appreciate how this annual fundraiser is an example of collective kindness. So many people reach out to make life easier for others. The planning, the preparation, the gathering of people who support our work is a moving testimony to their compassionate, caring hearts.

The woman preparing a meal with donated food may be in touch with the kindness of others. Like me, she might be thinking of their goodness in her time of need. Like you, she might be doing what she can to help another.

Mom spent her life caring for family, friends and strangers. In her last years, our immediate family soaked up that care and love. Her room is empty, but the goodness that was her will abide in our hearts forever. She will continue to remind us that there are many people making our world a good place to live.

(Lois Rockhill is executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana. She can be reached at lrockhill@curehunger.org.)

Second Harvest Column: Where We Are

kpaul.mallasch — Sat, 2 Feb 2008 17:04:06 -0800

By Lois Rockhill

Do you know where the Second Harvest Food Bank warehouse is? Up until November last year, you may have noticed it at the corner of 14th and Meridian streets in downtown Anderson, particularly if you found yourself stopped at the traffic light or eating at Real Hacienda.

Now you would need to be traveling Indiana 35 or Indiana 3 north of Muncie to see our sign on a complex of buildings next to the Water Bowl.

Chances are you see our trucks more often than our building. One has our cornucopia logo on it, another has cans of food. The third is identified with the ConAgra Feeding Children Better logo. These vehicles extend our reach into the eight counties that make up our service area. They are on the road daily with a heavy schedule of donation pickup and food delivery.

Usually, food delivery is targeted to the 130 programs receiving food from our warehouse. These deliveries are scheduled weekly. Pantry reps and staff from programs in our network order the food they want from our all-inclusive inventory list that is updated on our Web page every morning. More than 60,000 pounds of food, about 10 percent of our inventory, goes out each week to programs providing food to needy neighbors. Another 16,000 pounds are distributed through our Tailgate Program, with two deliveries per week adding up to one tailgate a month in each of our eight counties.

The Tailgate Program can be considered a supplement to the pantries and meal programs in each county. Pantries might be open daily, weekly, monthly or bi-monthly. Some are open multiple times a week but limit the number of times per month a person can come in for food. Capacity to serve and resources with which to serve often determine how often the site is open and how often a client can visit. The Tailgate Program offers one more way for low-income people to get food for their families.

Second Harvest staff works with local charities and businesses to set up the tailgate schedule. Joe Fox does the scheduling and selects the food items for the food distribution. Dan Terrill, the driver, is responsible for hauling the food to the site and overseeing the distribution process. He counts on volunteers from our network and from local businesses to be there to help load client cars and keep a count of those served. Gary Benefiel is our alternate driver.

During an average tailgate, 8,000 pounds of food is given out in less than two hours to 250 families. Each family gets four or five items. Items could include fresh produce, a case of a beverage, a meal component such as soup, and a snack item. What is given depends on what is available at the Second Harvest Food Bank warehouse.

We try to keep the same monthly schedule for each county, but any tailgate distribution is subject to change. People interested in attending as volunteers or recipients should check their local newspapers and radio stations to confirm dates and times. You can also confirm at our Web site www.curehunger.org.

For the month of February we have scheduled as follows:

Saturday – The Horizon Center (Super Saturday) in Muncie, 10 a.m.

Friday, Feb. 8 – Blackford County Fairgrounds in Hartford City, 10 a.m.

Friday, Feb. 8 - Wabash Senior Citizen Center in Wabash, 11 a.m.

Friday, Feb. 15 – Moose Family Center in New Castle with United Fund, 9 a.m.

Friday, Feb. 22 – St. Martin Community Center in Marion, 12:30 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 29 – Buley Community Center in Muncie, 9 a.m.

Friday, Feb. 29 – Athletic Park in Anderson, 2 p.m.

Tailgates in Jay and Randolph counties are to be announced for February. We need volunteers for both counties in order to schedule. Portland and Winchester are the usual locations. Children and Family Services board members, staff and volunteers usually provide strong leadership for the tailgate distributions in those counties but are unable to do so in February.

Anyone interested in helping out at any tailgate should phone Tiffany Jones or Joe Fox at Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana. You can reach us at (765) 287-8698.

(Lois Rockhill is executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana. She can be reached at lrockhill@curehunger.org.)

Second Harvest Column: Omnibus Bill Earmarks

kpaul.mallasch — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 03:00:05 -0800

By Lois Rockhill

Oh those earmarks! And I'm not talking about a bump on your lobe, or the lines your sunglasses make on the top of your ear. If President George W. Bush signs the Omnibus Bill this week, Second Harvest Food Bank is apt to get a $700,000 earmark.

Wikipedia, the free internet encyclopedia, says that "earmark is a term that dates to the 16th century, originally referring to cuts or marks in the ears of cattle and sheep made to show ownership. Today it is commonly used to refer to an institution's ability to designate funds for a specific use or owner. In U.S. politics, an earmark refers to congressional provisions that direct funds to be spent on specific projects."

In our case, Senator Richard Lugar felt that our need to relocate was urgent enough that he asked Congress to designate a million dollars of federal funds to get the job done. The Senate Appropriations Committee agreed with him and the Senate as a whole voted for it. Next it went to the House and was approved but reduced to $700,000 for reasons unknown.

The money for this earmark is coming out of the FY2008 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies appropriations bill. This bill and ten others were all rolled into one $555 billion omnibus appropriations bill in an effort to fund the government in 2008. Congress passed it on Dec 17, 18, and 19.

On December 20 President Bush congratulated Congress for their progress but said he wanted to see if earmarks could be removed before he signed the bill. With that in mind he signed a stop-gap spending bill last Friday to keep the government running until his folks could take another look at this 1,600 page document. The word is that it is unlikely that earmarks will be removed but we won't know anything until after December 31.

If we do get an appropriation, our renovations at our Delaware County site will leap forward. We may get out of those construction trailer offices we are renting, re-roof building #2, get the pot holes out of our road system and cover the peeling paint on the exterior buildings.

I know there are strong feelings for and against earmarks. Hoosiers should be pleased that Senator Lugar takes these special appropriations seriously and expects accountability. He visited us in our Anderson location and keeps close tabs on the nine regional food banks throughout the state. He supports our anti-hunger work at every opportunity. Although we are not government entities, tapping some government resources to help us get food to Hoosiers in need makes sense.

If the news is not good about the earmark, if President Bush finds a way to strip the Omnibus Bill of the attached earmarks, all will not be lost. We have already had enormously generous support from East Central Indiana and know there is more to come. The Community Foundations in our region have donated more than $100,000 toward capital, endowment and increased program costs and they aren't done yet!

The Ball Brothers Foundation made a $300,000 grant and the George and Frances Ball Foundation pledged $100,000. There have been many gifts and pledges that have excited us not only in their importance in meeting the need, but in their confirmation and encouragement.

It's a big job moving a business. It's expensive and it takes a lot of time and energy. We would not have done it if the condition of our Anderson facility hadn't forced our hand. But, what a great warehouse we found and what wonderful opportunities are coming our way. Our huge warehouse, freezer and refrigerator are filling up with a great selection of food items.

Our staunch friends at Prairie Farms in Anderson, Marsh perishable warehouse in Yorktown, Wal-Mart distribution center in Gas City and Meridian Foods in Eaton, to name a few, are providing a great variety of nutritious products. Our network of 130 pantries and meal programs in East Central Indiana are getting more food to help the 63,900 people who pass through their doors each year.

Mr.. President, if you sign that bill please be assured that this is one earmark that will work for the good of many thousands of people in East Central Indiana.

Lois Rockhill is Executive Director of Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana, Inc.

Second Harvest Column: New Muncie Location Update

kpaul.mallasch — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 13:42:02 -0800

By Lois Rockhill

Come see our new place! We are having a dinner and a tour on December 5th at 6:00 PM, our first public event in our new home. We’ll update you on our progress and give you a peak at what’s to come. Call Tiffany at 800-886-0882 or email tjones@curehunger.org to register at $15 per person.

We won’t be hard to find, look us up on Yahoo Maps at 6621 N Old SR 3. It’s a Muncie address but we are located in Delaware County, minutes from the Muncie Mall to the South and Royerton to the North. Tiffany can give more specific directions if needed.

It’s been a long haul, hasn’t it? Two years ago August when Hurricane Katrina was wrecking havoc in New Orleans, we were aghast to learn that our building in Anderson was doomed. It was found to be structurally unsound with the south wall in danger of collapse.

Time has flown since then, crammed-packed full of building searches, funding exploration, and property acquisition and renovation along with sustaining day-to-day operations of providing millions of pounds of food for people in need in East Central Indiana.

Everything has come together rather well. We purchased the 36.6-acre, 110,000 square foot, four-building complex in April and began getting the previously vacant facility ready for occupancy. Volunteers, staff and temporary employees painted, caulked, secured and cleaned building #3 to ready it to be our base of operation.

The freezer and refrigerator were constructed with gently used panels held up by specially engineered steel. Electricians wired, professionals piped and technicians cabled. Concrete was poured, gravel laid and parking lots de-weeded. With lots more on the to-do lists for the entire complex, we finally brought building #3 to the point of occupancy.

Two weeks ago all the dry food was transferred from Anderson to Delaware County. Last week we moved the frozen. This week we plan to pull two construction trailers into building #3 to use as temporary offices. With a little luck we will get our furniture, files, and office contents moved into those offices by the first of December and be fully relocated.

Our name will soon come off the building at 1417 Meridian Street in Anderson and the building transferred to the City of Anderson. I hope this prime location continues to serve the community well whether from a repaired building or a well-located lot that may attract new business.

Lois Rockhill is Executive Director of Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana, Inc.