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Stories HopeFall 2012

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Building connections, from field to table • PG 4

• Food & Fund punches hunger• A season of thanks• Reaching out with SNAP• The unsung volunteersIn

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THANK YOU!

If eating pizza to fight hunger sounds too good to be true, visit a Punch Pizza during their annual food drive and try it for yourself. Each November, Punch Pizza offers a free pizza with a cash or food donation in support of Second Harvest Heartland. Last year, customers brought in more than 8,300 pounds of food items and raised $4,000 through an online coupon offer—enough for us to deliver more than 21,000 meals to our hungry neighbors!

Punch Pizza’s annual Food & Fund Drive has seen increased customer support every year since it began in 2009. “As a restaurant, we feel a special obligation to help fight hunger in the Twin Cities,” said Jenny Nyquist of Punch Pizza. “We have such a dedicated and generous customer base at Punch, and they look forward to this promotion each year.  We are amazed at how many tons of food are collected in just one day and it makes giving away thousands of pizzas totally worth it.”

Although the restaurant staff has to work harder on the day of the drive than any other day in the year, they enjoy working hard for a great cause. Staff even bring in

their own food donations and donate their day’s tips to Second Harvest Heartland. The food drive is also important to managers because they know the importance of fighting hunger in our community. They work hard to provide extra staff for the day of the drive, keep up with the long lines, and of course, keep making great pizza. At the end of the night, the managers tally the total number of pizzas given away and count the barrels of food. Every store wants to give away the most pizza and collect the most food donated, because the winners’ bragging rights last until the next year.

Punch Pizza continues to partner with Second Harvest Heartland because they believe in the fight against hunger. At the end of the day, seeing the food donation barrels filled to the top makes all the hard work worth it.

To learn how you can hold a Food & Fund Drive, visit 2harvest.org/foodandfund.

At this time of year our thoughts naturally turn to the bounty of the season—harvesting fields and gardens, celebrating the change in weather, and sharing a special meal with family and friends at Thanksgiving. Yet the plenty that so many of us enjoy is not guaranteed for nearly one in 10 of our neighbors, who are at risk for regularly missing meals. In this issue, you’ll learn more about how Second Harvest Heartland helps our community share its bounty with those who need extra support to make it through tough times.

Take our innovative work with several Minnesota farmers and processors to

harvest 4.3 million pounds of surplus, farm-fresh produce, getting it quickly to food shelves and into the hands of hungry clients. We adapted our resources, working closely with partner food shelves to move this extraordinary amount of nutritious fresh produce—triggering what one agency partner described as “the best thing that’s ever happened to our food shelf.”

We also continue to be stewards of incredible bounty from our corporate and community volunteers and donors, as evidenced by the attendance and enthusiasm at our October 4 open house, which officially opened Second Heartland

Harvest West in Golden Valley. Throughout September, volunteers donated nearly 5,000 hours of time at our convenient new warehouse facility.

As you settle around a holiday table with your loved ones this season, know that your contributions of dollars, time and talent to Second Harvest Heartland are translating directly to meals for kids, families and seniors. Your generosity plays a crucial role in our mission to end hunger through community partnerships.

-Rob Zeaske

2 Fall 2012

PuncHIng OuT HungER THE FOOd & Fund wAy

The Mission Beyond the Mission

A message from our Executive director

you can help.

Together we are transforming hunger relief. Mark your calendar with these events. Go to 2harvest.org/events for more details.

The Mission Beyond the Mission

A message from our cEO

Season’s Bounty is Meant To Be Shared

Taste of the VikingsNovember 19 • Nickelodeon Universe, Mall of America

Rub elbows with current and former Vikings players while sampling food from the Twin Cities’ finest restaurants.

For more details, visit vikings.com/tasteofthevikings.

walk to End HungerNovember 22, 7-10am • Mall of America

The Walk to End Hunger is a 5K, family-friendly fun walk presented by the Twin Cities Hunger Initiative on Thanksgiving morning inside the Mall of America. Join Team Second Harvest Heartland or contribute to the event in a number of other ways.

For more details, visit 2harvest.org/walk.

Let’s Kick Hunger day Radiothon January 31, 2013 • Mall of America

WCCO Radio and Taste of the NFL present the fourth-annual Let’s Kick Hunger Day Radiothon to benefit Second Harvest Heartland. Join sponsors General Mills and Land O’ Lakes to feed our neighbors in need. 

For more information, visit letskickhungerday.org.

Vintner BallMarch 2, 2013 • Westin Edina Galleria

Don’t miss the next Vintner Ball, a world-class, charitable wine tasting event. One hundred percent of funds raised benefit Second Harvest Heartland. Enjoy an evening of some of the finest wines from around world, gourmet hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction and wine seminars!

For more information, visit vintnerball.com.

dish: cuisine for changeMay 30, 2013 • Saint Paul RiverCentre

Second Harvest Heartland’s premier fundraising gala, Dish is an elegant evening of fine food prepared by the best chefs in and around the Twin Cities, auction items, wine tasting and entertainment to help our hungry neighbors. Each year, the event raises nearly $500,000 in support of our work towards a hunger-free community. 2013 marks the 10-year anniversary of Dish—you won’t want to miss it!

Find out how you can get involved at dishcuisineforchange.org.

Last year, Punch customers raised $4,000 and 8,300 pounds of food.

A huge Second hArveSt heArtlAnd ‘thAnk you!’ for mAking SePtemBer hugely SucceSSful!

HungER AcTIOn MOnTH – gIVE A LITTLE FEEd A LOT Thank you to all who volunteered, donated food or made a financial contribution during Hunger Action Month! You may have also participated in the Give a Little, Feed a Lot campaign with a donation of food, doubled your dollar with a matched online donation or rounded up your grocery total at Cub Foods. If so, you helped raise enough for nearly 1.7 million meals! Give a Little, Feed a Lot was made possible by Cub Foods, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, MOM Brands, Dean Foods and KSTP. Thank you so much.

dOuBLE dOwn SPOnSORS This September, 1,827 volunteers responded with 4,715 hours of service at Second Harvest Heartland West, more than doubling the amount of time contributed in September of 2011. Every volunteer hour completed at Second Harvest Heartland West during this time was matched with a financial contribution by our generous Double Down Sponsors: Cargill, Ecolab, General Mills, Kemps, Optum and UnitedHealthcare! Thank you!

PAcK-A-THOn SPOnSORS Our first-ever Pack-a-Thon was a huge success, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the 265 volunteers who logged more than 550 hours packing enough food to provide more than 167,000 meals! We’d like to thank our presenting sponsor, The Mosaic Company, who matched all donations during the event for a total of $33,000!

When we got the call about 600,000 pounds of surplus corn, we responded immediately and helped distribute more than half a million pounds to 18 food banks in 10 states.

In past issues, we’ve told you about the more than 200 million pounds of heartland- fresh produce that goes un-harvested or unsold in Minnesota alone......a staggering number, difficult even to understand when you consider that amount would fill 5,000 semis. But what we can easily understand is that the corn, potatoes, watermelon, peppers, peas and other produce that go to waste on Minnesota farms each year would be of great value to so many families at risk of going without a meal today—if only we could find a way to make the connection.

That’s where Harvest to Home, the local agricultural surplus program anchored by Second Harvest Heartland, comes in. At a time when food manufacturers are increasing efficiencies, resulting in less surplus product, and demand on food shelves is high, it’s more important than ever that hunger-relief organizations continue to forge new partnerships to connect the abundance of the heartland with the dinner tables of those we serve.

Last year through Harvest to Home, we collected more than 2.3 million pounds of sweet corn, potatoes, watermelon and green peppers from over 40 different farms. This season, we collected more than 4.3 million pounds of sweet corn, potatoes, apples, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, watermelon, green beans, peppers, squash, tomatoes and zucchini that has already been sent out through our network of food shelf and other agency partners for distribution to families in need. This year, more than 60 different farms and processors across our state participated with donations.

WiThoUT ACTioN, A boUNTy CAN TURN iNTo ovERAbUNdANCE When we got the call that Seneca Foods had 600,000 pounds of corn available if we had the capacity to collect it, we responded immediately. Trucks that would normally have moved the corn in Renville County to a Seneca plant instead moved it to Cargill's grain storage facility in Savage. Cargill employees packed 12 truckloads of corn into totes, and SUPERVALU supported the effort with refrigeration and transportation.

But like any fresh food, corn is perishable. We knew Minnesota’s emergency food system couldn’t quickly enough absorb more than 100,000 pounds of it—so the Second Harvest Heartland Food Sourcing Team sprung into action, making connections with other food banks in the Feeding America network to share in the bounty. Within days, truckloads of corn were on their way to 18 food banks in 10 states—from the Greater Food Depository in Chicago, Illinois to the North Texas Food Bank in Dallas, Texas.

LoCAL GRoWERS dEdiCATE CRoPS To ThE CAUSE While the vast majority of the pounds contributed to this program has and will come through partnerships with large-scale processors like Seneca, donations from smaller, local growers make a huge difference. Take Gary Pahl, owner of Pahl’s Market in Apple Valley, as an example. Last year, Gary learned of the program and told us, “I never would have figured in my whole entire life that this network that they have established

and put together throughout the country could do what they did, and get (the produce) out to people.” This year, Gary planted crops specifically planned for donation, amounting to more than 230,000 pounds of corn, cabbage, green beans, cucumbers and peppers.

PARTNERShiPS WiLL ShAPE ThE FUTURE Not one of the successes experienced this year could have been accomplished without the dedication and commitment of caring partners on the front lines of hunger relief. From the major processor to the local community garden, the contributions of each and every partner make a tremendous difference in the lives of people experiencing hunger.

As the autumn fades into winter here in the heartland, we look forward to an off-season full of brainstorming, connecting and planning for future years when we can capture even more of the 200 million pounds of abundance waiting to be picked and placed in front of a hungry child, senior or working parent to enjoy.

HARVESTto

Bringing a Bounty of Farm-Fresh Food to Families

60+ fArmS 4.3 million lBS 37,300 fAmilieS80+ truckS 1 month of food

HOME

3,360,000 meAlS4 Fall 2012

Special thanks to hunger-Free Minnesota for the

funding and coordination that helped make this distribution possible!

Fall 2012 5

CAMiLLE CyPRiAN: SNAP outreach Manager

For many individuals struggling to put food on the table, SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; formerly known as Food Stamps) can be just the help they need to make ends meet. So why are only 65 percent of Minnesotans who are eligible for SNAP currently utilizing the program? Often, the complex application process prevents applicants from accessing this much-needed resource. This is where the Second Harvest Heartland SNAP Outreach team becomes so crucial.

Camille Cyprian, SNAP Outreach manager at Second Harvest Heartland, diligently works with her team of SNAP Outreach specialists to streamline the SNAP application process as much as possible. Camille is quick to credit her team for the success they have seen. Over the past year alone, the number of SNAP applicants the team has assisted has doubled from years previous. But credit for this success also lies in the support, knowledge and resources Camille provides to her staff along the way.

Since joining Second Harvest Heartland in 2011, Camille has immersed herself in SNAP regulations and policy changes. “I love information. I love to read. I love to know things,” she says. “In order

to provide support for my team I need to know the policies and regulations. I need to be able to answer the questions they might have, and they need to know this information to continue to grow.”

Camille goes on to explain, “It’s important to be ‘in the know’ about policy—this helps us to be a leader in our field because policy trickles down into the work that we do. It is important to be up on what’s new in order to provide the best customer service and make the [application] process as seamless as possible.”

This approach has successfully allowed Camille’s team of SNAP Outreach specialists to then focus their efforts on developing strong relationships with people seeking help. The support Camille provides to her team is instrumental to their success, as SNAP specialists work hard to make connections with their clients. “When county workers cannot get ahold of SNAP clients, they call us, because they know we can get [in contact with] them,” says Camille. “We have built that relationship and rapport with the clients.”

With more than one in 10 of our neighbors at risk of missing a meal tonight, programs like SNAP Outreach are more important than ever. Programs like SNAP Outreach work to break down barriers to SNAP participation and connect more people with more food in their time of need.

Voices of HungerTHE FROnT LInES OF HungER RELIEF

When you think of Second Harvest Heartland volunteers, you likely picture people in a warehouse packing boxes and sorting food. In many cases, this is an accurate image of our ‘traditional’ volunteers, who are crucial in our fight against hunger. But there are other volunteers who are just as crucial but not quite as visible. Second Harvest Heartland volunteers also answer phones, help with data entry and assist with other administrative work. They help keep our day-

to-day operations humming! Elise Saggau and Jerri Freier, two of our dedicated data entry specialists, are part of a legion of behind-the-scenes volunteers whose inconspicuous work is absolutely vital to the daily operations at Second Harvest Heartland.

In 2011, nearly 12,000 volunteers collectively contributed time equivalent to 29 full-time employees. With that many volunteers, Elise and Jerri’s work entering volunteer hours into the system and managing the volunteer database is vital to making our volunteer program run so smoothly.

“Second Harvest Heartland is trying to get food to those who need it and volunteers help make that possible,” said Jerri. “So, my little task of entering and confirming data just helps make sure those volunteers are able to volunteer, are recognized for volunteering and, hopefully, return to volunteer more so Second Harvest Heartland can help get food to those who need it.”

Like a lot of our volunteers, Elise and Jerri contribute time to Second Harvest Heartland

because they believe in our mission of fighting hunger and helping those in need in our community. “I feel I’m part of a large and very efficient operation that is dedicated to feeding the hungry, and that is very important to my personal value system,” said Elise. “From the beginning of my work with Second Harvest, I have been made to feel very welcome and appreciated. While entering data can be very tedious, I am actually seeing the wide reach of Second Harvest Heartland as I review the generosity of so many persons of many ages, cultures and walks of life who volunteer their time and talent for the sake of this mission.”

More than anything, Elise and Jerri realize the impact they have on Second Harvest Heartland’s ability to operate in the most efficient way possible. “I know that what I do is essential to the organization. Doing it as a volunteer is the equivalent of a significant financial contribution which I am not able to make from my personal resources,” said Elise.

We are fortunate that volunteers like Elise and Jerri are willing to do the unrecognized and often unglamorous jobs for the sake of our commitment to the community. They, along with our wide network of volunteers, partners and donors, are the heart of Second Harvest Heartland, and we couldn’t be more thankful.

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An ExTRA EFFORT FOR OuR HungRy nEIgHBORS

The volunteers behind the volunteers

Fall 2012 7

Elise Saggau is one of many less-heralded volunteers.

your Support is needed now, more than everIf you’re like most families in the heartland, you’ll sit down this month and enjoy a Thanksgiving feast surrounded by loved ones. But the unfortunate reality is that thousands of Minnesota families will rely on their local food shelf for a simple holiday meal. With your help, we can make the holidays a little brighter for families in need. Please share what you can to help us keep our neighbors hunger-free this holiday season. Just a $10 contribution will allow us to provide a meal-a-day for more than a month for a working parent, child or senior in need.

To donate, use the handy attached envelope or visit us online at 2harvest.org.

AN ELEGANT TASTE oF HungER RELIEFThe Taste of the Vikings, one of our premier fundraising events, is right around the corner! Don’t miss your chance to personally meet players from the current Vikings team while sampling food from the Twin Cities’ finest restaurants on Monday, November 19, at Nickelodeon Universe in Mall of America.

One in six Minnesota children lives at risk of hunger, and this party with a purpose has been making a huge impact on hunger relief for over 20 years. All proceeds help benefit the Vikings Children’s Fund Summer Lunch Program through Second Harvest Heartland. Grab your tickets today and help kick childhood hunger!

Visit vikings.com/tasteofthevikings to get your tickets now.

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One in 10 of your neighbors is at risk of missing a meal on any given day. But you can help make a direct impact on the lives of those in need on Thursday, November 15, when Second Harvest Heartland participates in the fourth-annual Give to the Max Day. This one-day, statewide online fundraising event allows us to provide the meals our hungry neighbors need in the most efficient way possible. The Mosaic Company and a group of generous individual donors are again offering more than $100,000 in combined matching funds—so your donation will go twice as far!

The generosity of thousands of donors on this day has helped Second Harvest Heartland continue our mission of fighting hunger for three years in a row. Last year, we were able to raise more than $390,000, which is enough to provide over 1,443,000 meals to those in need! Give to the Max Day is an incredible 24-hour display of the benevolence of our state, and we hope you’ll join in the caring.

Find out more about Give to the Max Day at givemn.org, or log on to 2harvest.org/reminder to sign up to receive a reminder about Give to the Max Day.

gIVE TO THE MAx And dOuBLE yOuR gIFT!

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A growing program for growing minds

Thank you for helping Second Harvest Heartland support Meals for Minds. Without proper nutrition, kids find it harder to concentrate and perform in school. The Meals for Minds program, supported by Target, is designed to bring food to students and families in need by regularly setting up temporary food shelves at schools where the need is great. Your volunteer efforts have helped this program grow throughout the Twin Cities.

Nonprofit Organization

US Postage Paid Second Harvest

Heartland

cause and Effectsyou supported the cause. here is the change you’ve effected.

1140 gervAiS Ave., St. PAul, mn 55109-2020

Second Harvest HeartlandPhone: 651.484.5117 Toll Free: 888.339.3663 Fax: 651.484.1064

2harvest.org

Contact Info

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SEPTEMBERS TO REMEMBER When the school year begins and children face new routines and challenges, proper nutrition is more important than ever. Here is a snapshot of how Meals for Minds has grown during

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14,735 Meals455 Served

33,080 Meals1,248 Served

53,665 Meals1,829 Served

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