Edgewood

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.

Watch for Children and School Busses

kpaul.mallasch — Wed, 6 Aug 2008 22:22:07 -0700

Watch for Children and School Busses

Second Harvest: Fruit of the Spirit

kpaul.mallasch — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 09:15:59 -0700

By Lois Rockhill

The July issue of a local church newsletter focused on the Fruit of the Spirit. Contributors were invited to write one page, double-spaced accounts of kindness or goodness they experienced or observed in the outreach ministry of the church. Five of the eight authors wrote about the church’s food assistance pantry.

The majority of the programs supported by Second Harvest Food Bank are pantries. Nearly all of these pantries are operated by churches or supported by the faith-base community. Most have no paid staff, and most have been serving their communities for a decade or more.

Feeding the hungry and ministering to those in need are practical outcomes of people deeply committed to their religious beliefs. Churches in every community and of every denomination take this mandate seriously. While temples and mosques are not common in our region of Indiana, devout people of all beliefs look for opportunity to give to those in need.

The people sharing in the church newsletter left this reader in awe of the process of pantry day. They painted a picture of people of the church and people of the pantry inspiring one another. What a tremendous commitment on the part of volunteers to give hours of their time daily, weekly, monthly to unload trucks, handle cases and tons of food, greet those needing assistance and do many, many other acts of kindness.

There is usually a faithful core of volunteers who keep a pantry going. They are the workers, the ones who keep the food coming in and the doors open. It is this core of volunteers who are most often blessed by those they help. They see people in need helping each other even when it means sharing meager resources to do so.

The newsletter tells a touching story of one pantry client providing another with a ride home and with assistance carrying groceries up to this elderly man’s apartment. Another tells of grandparents caring for grandchildren and reaching out to a child in the neighborhood who also needs their help.

We learn in this newsletter that these pantry volunteers are doing more than providing food to needy neighbors. They write with a joy of being involved in this ministry. They write with a real love for the people who enter their lives through the pantry door. They write in admiration of the whole network that gets food through the system and on to the tables of people struggling to make ends meet.

Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana will bring millions of pounds of food into this region by the end of this year. Perhaps a couple hundred thousand pounds will go to this particular pantry to help them feed their neighbors.

We know that local pantries will continue to feel the pressure of diminishing resources and increased need. Second Harvest is committed to filling that need by funneling donations from the food industry to our network of pantries and meal programs.

Perhaps it is time for your church or organization to establish a food pantry or commit to ongoing support of one serving your community. Funds, food and volunteers are needed at every level of the food assistance network. Visit our Web site at www.curehunger.org for more information or phone (765) 287-8698 ext. 100 to get involved.

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

Longaberger Bingo

just4fun — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:39:29 -0700

Start: 04/22/2008 - 9:00pm

Longaberger Bingo at Southview Elemertary School, 6:00 pm on April 22

Proceeds go for new books for the library

Any questions please contact Michelle D at 641-2107

Tommy J's

TheDawg — Sat, 9 Feb 2008 21:32:45 -0800

This place is awsome. I have ate from there the last 3 weeks and have yet to have anything bad from there. Try the beef with BBQ sause for a pizza. Unless you are REALLY hungry, you could share an 8" with someone too!

Bruchetta, Caprese, and the Spinach Calzone are also HIGHLY reccomended.

Might be a bit of a wait on the busier times, seems like they only have two people working, but the prices and the food are DEFINATELY worth the wait.

Independent Federal Credit Union Opens New Branch in Edgewood

kpaul.mallasch — Tue, 5 Feb 2008 12:28:23 -0800

ANDERSON, IN - On Wednesday, January 30th, Mayor Kris Ockomon and Edgewood Town Council President, Patricia Farran performed their first official ribbon cutting by helping Chairman of the Board, Mark Fetz, CEO, Norm Getts and Madison County Chamber President Keith Pitcher celebrate the grand opening of Independent Federal Credit Union's fourth Madison County location.

The newest addition to the Credit Union's full service branches is located at 3607 Nichol Avenue. Independent was originally founded as the credit union for Delco Remy employees in Anderson. Having been in business since 1946, it is Anderson's largest credit union.

The Credit Union recently acquired a community charter, allowing anyone who lives, works, worships or studies in Madison County the ability to become a member. Families of those eligible to join are also invited to become members.

Independent's new West Branch will be a full service location, with three drive-up lanes, a drive-up ATM, and full lobby service. They have three other locations: 1107 East 24th St, 2220 East 59th St. (behind Cracker Barrel), and Hartman Road at SR 9 North.

Independent Federal Credit Union offers a wide range of savings and checking products as well as all types of IRA and money market accounts. Loans available include auto loans, personal loans, credit cards and mortgages. They also have 9 ATM locations locally.

Independent Federal Credit Union is very active both financially and with volunteer hours in the community, supporting such groups as the Brooklyn Little League, Boy Scouts of America, the American Cancer Society, Relay for Life, The March of Dimes, Dove Harbor, Anderson Community Schools Foundation, Anderson University/ Purdue University at Anderson, Ivy Tech Community College and the Anderson Center for the Arts.

Source: City of Anderson Press Release