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Seniors Struggle:True stories of hunger in Southwest Virginia
foodSouthwestern VirginiaSecond Harvest Food Bank
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f o r t h o u g h tF a l l 2 0 0 9
Ruth receives $53 a month in Food Stamps. The meager
amount wouldnt be enough forRuth to live on alone
and with a family of four, its simply impossible. Thats
why this struggling senior sits patiently inside her localfood pantry waiting for the brown paper grocery bag
filled with the necessities that will last her household
another week.
Unable to work and with only $53 a month in food
stamps,Ruth struggles to keep up with lifes necessities
by stretching her disability check as far as it will take
her. The disability check she receives at the beginning
of each month is carefully distributed for rent,
electricity, water, and sewer. Whats left isnt enough
for groceries and thats whyRuth is left sitting in this
waiting room... waiting for her turn to receive the food
assistance she so desperately needs.
Unfortunately,Ruth is notalone in her struggle.
According to the U.S.
Census Bureau, nearly 10%
of individuals 65 or older
live below the poverty
level. Nationwide, its
estimated that nearly four
million seniors struggle in
poverty. Seniors who, like
Ruth, depend on food
assistance to survive.
W h a t s I n s i
p.2 -A Message from th
President & CEO
p.4 - Staff Stories
p.6 - Hunger Horizon
p.7 - Granting Success
Names and photos used in this story have bchanged to protect the identity of clie
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www.swvafoodbank.org
Board of Directors
James E. Pearman, Jr.Board PresidentFee-Only Financial Planning,LC Founding Member
Daniel BarchiBoard Vice PresidentCarilion Biomedical InstitutePresident and CEO
Neil BirkhoffBoard SecretaryWoods Rogers, Attorneys atLaw Principal Attorney
Kathy GravelyIndividual
Pamela IrvineSWVA Second Harvest FoodBank, President & CEO
Teresa LynchR.T. Lynch Transport &Logistics, Vice President -Operations
Donna McMannersKroger, Print AdvertisingManager
Rev. Nouhad MelkiAtkins First Church of GodSenior Pastor
Jon PainterAmerican Electric PowerHuman Resources Consultant
John F. Shoulders, Jr.New Century DevelopmentCo., LLCManaging Member
Chris ThompsonPelican Management, Inc.Principal
Christine NelsonVirginia Career VIEW/Virginia TechOutreach Coordinator
Jason HartmanBrown Edwards &Company LLPAssurance Services Partner
2
The beauty of Southwest Virginia in
the fall can be intoxicating. The
mountains burst with vibrant colors,
signaling the start of a new season.
Its lost on very few that the rural
region of Virginia we call home offers
some of the most fantastic, awe
inspiring sceneries on the east coast,
especially in the autumn. But let us
not forget that living within the reds
and yellows of these beautiful
mountain landscapes are tens of
thousands of men, women and
children struggling with hunger.
Its true the Southwestern Virginia
Second Harvest Food Bank serves
some of the most photo friendly
regions in the state, but its also true
that your Food Banks 26 county, 10
city service territory covers some of
the most impoverished regions
in the state.
As mother nature sheds her summer
green and braces for the cold season
ahead, let us remember the
working-poor families, elderly couple
and single parents that are also makin
preparations for a long winter.
Struggling families that will have to
add expensive heating bills on top of
a mountain of bills. These families
will certainly need a helping hand
as temperatures plummet and thanks t
you, the Food Banks more than 340partner agency feeding programs
will be there to help those in need
this winter.
from the President & CEOA MESSAGE
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Looking for a Speaker?The Southwestern VirginiaSecond Harvest Food Bankhappy to provide speakers an array of topics such as:
Understanding the Food BaA guide to understanding thprocess of the Food Bank a general overview of the
various programs offered.From Kids Cafe and Backpprograms, to safe foodhandling and financialplanning, you may be surprat whats happening at theFood Bank.
Hunger Education:Causes, solutions, and actio
Volunteering:Explore unique ways that
children and adults canvolunteer individually oras a group.
Contact Harry VanGuilder phone at (540) 342-3011ext.42, or by email athvanguilder@swvafoodbankto explore dates and topics oyour choice.
Look for details about the Southwestern Virginia Second
Harvest Food Banks expansion efforts in the Spring edition
of our Food for Thought newsletter. Well have all the
details regarding the Food Banks staggering distribution
goals, growing programs and even a peak inside the new
Appalachian Distribution Center. Look for all that and more
in the next installment of the Southwestern Virginia Second
Harvest Food Banks Food for Thought newsletter!
2009 Agency Conference & Training
The Southwestern Virginia Second
Harvest Food Banks annual AgencyConference & Trainings are an
excellent opportunity to further connect
our partner agencies with the resources
and tools they need to better serve
the hungry. It is not enough to just feed
hungry individuals, the Food Bank and
its partner agencies constantly strive to
do more. To reach the underserved
areas of this region, to be prepared for
emergency food scenarios and to make
C O M I N G S O O N !
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sure the hungry have every available
opportunity to overcome theirpoverty status.
The trainings allow the Food Banks
partner agencies the chance to enhance
their soup kitchen, rescue mission or
food pantry through various sessions
including grant writing, public
relations, disaster training, childrens
nutrition, mobile pantries and
much more.
2009 Mobile Food Pantry Training
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4
Appalachian
Distribution Center
126 Russell Rd., Abingdon, VA
Roanoke ValleyDistribution CenterAdministrative Office
1025 Electric Road, Salem, VA
Visit theFood Bank
The tour was truly enlightening.
Never in my thoughts did I have
any idea of what you do at thatlocation. I only wish more people
knew how hard you work at
helping others.
- Donna Meyerhoeffer
Join Donna and raise your
hunger awareness. Visit a
Food Bank distribution center
near you today!
William Flemming High SchoolsBank on Itparticipants rescue food for the hungry.
S t a f f S t o r i e s:Five years ago, when
James Andrews first
came to the
Southwestern
Virginia Second
Harvest Food Bank,
he was simply a man
looking for a job. If
you ask today, hell
tell you he doesnt have a job, he has a
passion. I love people. I love working
with people. This is a mission for me,
said James. What volunteers rescue in
food one day, is going to be on a
hungry familys table the next day and
that makes my job special.
James coordinates the Food Banks food
rescue program known as the Salvage
Program. Its here that dented cans and
creased boxes filled with perfectly safe
and consumable food are rescued from
ending up in the landfill. Grocers and
retailers used to not have a choice but
throw this food away, but thanks to th
volunteers working with me, all that
food can be rescued for the hungry.
When James first started as Salvage
Coordinator, he and three other volun
teers struggled to keep up with the wo
But thanks to his upbeat personality a
infectious enthusiasm for the hungry,
James now has approximately 2,000
volunteers come through every year.
Last year volunteers donated 18,000
hours of their time to help the Food
Bank and I tell each and every one of
them how much we appreciate their
help, said James. Its not like a punc
in, punch out type of job atmosphere
here in salvage. Its fun, its happy an
we are going to laugh! Theyre volun-
teers, donating their time and so I mak
James Andrews,Salvage Coordinator
www.swvafoodbank.org
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Pamela Irvine,President & CEO
pirvine@swvafoodbank.org
Amy Milberger,V.P. of Development
amilberger@swvafoodbank.o
Dave Bethel,Director of Operations
dbethel@swvafoodbank.org
Becki Wildenberger,Programs Manager
rwildenberger@swvafoodban
Kitty Tabor,Food Procurement Manager
ktabor@swvafoodbank.org
Harry VanGuilder,Volunteer Services Coordinat
hvanguilder@swvafoodbank.
Jeremy Butterfield,
Communications Coordinatojbutterfield@swvafoodbank.o
Gary Mitchell,Operations Supervisor
gmitchell@swvafoodbank.org
Edward Roberts,Development Officer
eroberts@swvafoodbank.org
C o n t a c t U sRoanoke Distribution Cente
(540) 342-3011
Appalachian Distribution C
(276) 628-9266. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
experts.sure that they are having a good time
when they come in. The production of
James volunteers speaks for itself. Over
the past five years, rescued food has
nearly quadrupled. It used to take about
three months to sort and rescue 30,000
pounds of food. Now, we can rescue that
much in two or three weeks. If I have a
big group come through, we can get that
done in just one week. When I tell the
volunteers that they are helping to feed
hungry families, theres no stopping
them. They dont even want to take
a break.
You may be laughing when youre with
James, but rest assured you will be
working. Rescuing food is no small task.
First, all the items must be Pre-Sorted.
Thats when broken and leaking contain-
ers are thrown away, the salvageable
items are wiped down, expiration dates
are checked and finally the food is
boxed. Next, volunteers do Final-Sort.
Thats when all the boxed Pre-Sort is
re-checked, re-wiped, and this time
labeled with a sticker reading Donated,
Not for Sale. The third step is to weigh
all the Final-Sort and you guessed it,
inspect the product for a third time. If
the food passes the test and is safe and
consumable, it is distributed to the Food
Banks partner agency feeding programs.
In all, about 60,000 pounds of food is
rescued, following this process, every
month. And James couldnt do it alone.
I have had all sorts of volunteers:
employees from local businesses,
congressmen, attorney generals, beauty
queens, school groups... you name it and
they have volunteered with me. For me,
coming to the Food Bank and doing my
job isnt about getting a pay check. Its
about feeding hungry people and I
couldnt do it without my volunteers.
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Indulge your sweet tooth a
support your Food Bank! V
any Ruby Tuesdays, order
half-dozen gourmet cookies for take out or
catering orders and Ruby Tuesday will donat
10% of the sales to the hungry!
Salem, VA - Stop by the
Food Banks Roanoke
Valley Distribution Center on December 8th
a snack, a tour of our more than two million
cubic foot warehouse and some hunger
education. Tours conducted 3p.m.-7p.m.Abingdon, VA- Stop by the Appalachian
Distribution Center on November 20th,
Tours conducted 12p.m. - 6p.m.
Keep your ears open
another exciting Food
Bank & K92 Mornin
Thang collaboration.
Danny, Zach & Monica are back at it again.
Details coming this fall. Listen up!
Kitty Tabor, Food Procurement Manager, accepts food donations at 2009 Craftsmens Classi
Organize a Food Drive!
Food drives are essential tothe Food Banks cause. Not
only do food drives bring inmuch needed non-perishable
items, they also raise thehunger awareness of every-
one involved. Contact KittyTabor, Food Procurement
Manager at (540) 342-3011ext.19 or reach Kitty by email
at ktabor@swvafoodbank.org
Organize a Fundraiser!
Did you know that for every$1.00 you donate for the
hungry, the Food Bank can
distribute $6.00 worth offood? Thats more than threemeals for a hungry
individual! As you can see,fundraisers really pay off!
Contact Amy Milberger,(540) 342-3011 ext. 26 or
reach Amy by email atamilberger@swvafoodbank.org
Organize a Volunteer Day!More than 2,000 volunteers
donated more than 18,000hours of their time last year
to help the hungry inSouthwest Virginia. There
are a variety of tasks at theFood Bank that volunteers
can help with. Contact HarryVanGuilder, Director of
Volunteer Services at(540) 342-3011 ext. 42, or
reach Harry by email athvanguilder@swvafoodbank.org
6www.swvafoodbank.org
09 Craftsmens ClassicIncreased donations help fill need
Any time the Southwestern Virginia
Second Harvest Food Bank experiences
an increase in donations during an annual
event it is something to celebrate, but
this years increase during the 2009
Craftsmens Classic Arts & Crafts
Festival, in the midst of a significantly
worse economy than seen in years past
was especially encouraging to witness.
For the third year in a row, show
promoters made this one and only stop
on their fall tour free to the public.
Instead of admission, visitors were
encouraged to bring non-perishable food
donations to the Roanoke Civic Center.
The effort paid off! In only three days
time, residents donated more than
28,000 pounds of sorely needed food tothe hungry.
Our heartfelt thanks goes out to each and
every one of you who donated food dur-
ing this years show. And a special
thanks to show promoters, Clyde and
Tami Gilmore, as well as WDBJ7 for
sponsoring the show.
HolidaysFROM THEHeart
F O O D D R I V E
Anyone and everyone can participate in this
holiday food drive. Businesses, churches,
individuals, clubs, civic organizations... if yo
want to hold a food drive, just contact Kitty
Tabor, ktabor@swvafoodbank.org, and shel
give you all the details! Its that simple!
On the Hunger Horizo
H O L I D A YOpen House
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picking up food at this years
Craftsmens Classic food drive). If not
for the grant, the truck would have cost
the Food Bank $90,000. Thats $90,000
the Food Bank just didnt haveavailable for a new truck.
The award was made possible through
the Lincy Foundations Store Donation
Vehicle Grant Program and is truly the
gift that keeps on giving! Our 340+
partner agencies that directly feed the
hungry through food pantries or on-site
meal programs are the true beneficiaries
of this gift!
Thank you Feeding America and the
Lincy Foundation for providing the
infrastructure Food Banks need to
continue to provide food for the
millions of hungry people across the
nation! The need has never been greater.
New TruckGRANTS New Life
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Lincy Truck picking up donated food at the2009 Craftsmens Classic food drive.
The Southwestern Virginia Second
Harvest Food Bank picks up more than
51,000 pounds of donated food from
local and regional retail food donors
each week and until recently, the FoodBanks fleet of trucks could barely
handle the strain.
The average age of our fleet of trucks
was 12 years old. Each truck, boasting
hundreds of thousands of miles on the
odometer, was subject to frequent
breakdowns and with 12,000 square
miles of service territory to cover, the
fleet wasnt getting any stronger!
But things are beginning to look up.
Recently, the Food Bank was blessed to
have been among the winners of a grant
competition facilitated by Feeding
America, our national affiliate, that
awarded the Food Bank a shiny new 22
foot refrigerated truck (shown below
Benefit Performan
A magnificent choral/
orchestral workcelebrating the joy
of Christmas.
A CD recording will bemade and sold with
proceeds benefiting the
Food Bank.
Featuring: Festival Choi
Members ofthe Roanoke Symphony
Rebekah Pence,Danny Horsly &
CSUMC Choristers Cho
Magnificat
Mark Milberger
December 12, 20098:45 Am & 11:00 AMCave Spring United
Methodist Church4505 Hazel Drive, SW
Roanoke, VA 24018
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Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage
PAIDPermit No. 160Roanoke, VA
For more information, please contact:Southwestern Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank
Roanoke Valley Distribution Center
Administrative Office1025 Electric RoadSalem, VA 24153(540) 342-3011Fax: (540) 342-0056
SWVA Second Harvest Food B
is a nonprofit 501(c)3 charity
all gifts are tax-deductiWritten and designed in-house.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .foodf o r t h o u g h t
Order Form:Note: If you have more than one Memorial or Honorarium, this form may be duplicatedMake check payable to: SWVA Second Harvest Food Bank Brighten A Life Mail to: 1025 Electric Rd. Salem, VA 24153.
Please sendThank-you card to:
Donor's Name (s):____________________________________________________Phone:_____________________________
Address:________________________________________________City:____________________State:_______Zip:__________
My donation of $_________to SWVA Second Harvest Food Bank is enclosed.___In Memory of Name:_______________________________________
___In Honor of Name:_______________________________________
Please send Gift Notification Card to: (one card per donation please)
Name (s):_________________________________________________________Phone:_________________________
Address: City: State: Zip:
Honor someone you love this holiday season with a gift to Brighten a Life. A Brighten a Life gift is
a wonderful way to recognize family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, teachers, and others during
the holiday season. We will acknowledge your gift and notify the person or family you are
honoring with a beautiful seasonal card. Honorees will also be recognized on the Food Bank
website. (please note if you prefer no listing.) Now, more than ever before thousands of hungry
men, women and children need you to help illuminate their souls with a gift to the Food Bank.
Brighten aLife and illuminate a soul this Holiday Season