Inside the HeartlandA Publication of Second Harvest HeartlandFall 2007

1Inside the Heartland

Ending hunger in the Heartland is within reach. Second Harvest Heartland envisions that enough

food will be available in the SHH service area, so that no one goes to bed hungry and no one wakes up wondering where their next meal will come from. Second Harvest Heartland

will strive for an annual 15% c o m p o u n d growth rate in pounds of food and gro-cery products distributed to reach 93 mil-lion pounds in 2017, effec-tively ending hunger in the Heartland.

This is Second H a r v e s t He a r t l a n d ’ s

promise to you, the donors of time, money and food and the families living in our communities who are challenged daily or monthly with not hav-ing enough food to eat. Second Harvest Heartland will esca-late efforts with an aggressive 10-year plan to close the gap that exists in our communities: the gap between the rising need for emergency food and the amount being distributed to those in need. It is a measurable achieve-ment with benchmarks that will gauge the progress. Aspiring to reach this aggressive goal by 2017 is a challenge. SHH is reaching

into unknowns as we energetically look at innovative ways to increase food distribu-tion. Second Harvest Heartland will have to develop new methods to get food distrib-uted to those who need it in order to reach the goal of closing the gap.

Of this we are thankful: Second Harvest Heartland is positioned to fulfill our goal to end hunger in the Heartland by the year 2017. Thanks to the generosity of our many donors and the commitment of the SHH volunteers and employees, SHH can accomplish our mission by 2017.

Second Harvest Heartland has already taken giant steps towards reaching the goal. In

fiscal year 2007 (Oct. 1, 2006 – Sept. 30, 2007) SHH set a goal of 33 million pounds of food and grocery products distribut-ed to our 950 member agencies and pro-grams. That goal was surpassed by 1.5 mil-lion pounds. One venue that helped Second Harvest Heartland exceed the annual goal is the pioneering mobile Food Outreach program that distributed an additional 2 million pounds of food this year. SHH has expanded freezer/cooler space and is plan-ning the purchase of new trucks to further the efficiency of food delivery in the SHH service area.

Our Mission: To End Hunger in the Heartland by 2017

Joining forces to end hunger

With your help, kids like these won’t go to bed hungry.

Of this we are thankful: Second Harvest

Heartland is positioned to fulfill our goal to end hunger in the Heartland

by the year 2017.

The newly-created Food Outreach Program is credited with helping SHH exceed its food distribution goal last year. This Food Outreach event in Cambridge, MN distributed 44,973

pounds of food to 184 families in just three hours.

Through your support, SHH distributed a record-breaking 34.5 million pounds of food

in fiscal year 2007.

Continued on page 3. . .

2 Inside the Heartland

Spotlight: Famous Dave’sSecond Harvest Heartland was thrilled when Famous Dave’s approached us last year about kick-ing off its Annual Meeting for 75 staff from around the country with a teambuilding/volunteer activity at the Maplewood Distribution Center.

The only potential problem? Keeping such a large group busy.

The Famous Dave’s team was like a “storm of energy and enthusiasm,” according to Ray Ahlgren, Second Harvest Heartland Controller. “It took them an hour to do what we had planned for three hours. They blew our expectations away!”

To keep the large group busy, the Food Bank operations staff asked the restaurant team to take a pallet of mixed, frozen foods and repackage the items into various product categories (for example: mixed entrees, breakfast items and ice cream novelties). As a result: SHH now provides more convenient packaging and more accurate descriptions of its grocery product items.

The Farm Bill Isn’t Just About FarmingThe 2007 Farm Bill being considered in Congress comes around just once every five years and contains funding for vital nutrition programs that are provided by Second Harvest Heartland. The Senate Agriculture Committee completed work on the 2007 Farm Bill the end of October that included $4.3 billion in additional fund-ing authority for nutrition programs.

The bill reauthorizes the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) and authorizes up to $50 million over five years to make grants to food banks and other organizations for maintenance and to improve food distribution. A $1.1 billion fruit and vegetable program was included to promote child health and nutrition for low-income children. Provisions of the Food Stamp program were amended to remove barriers to participation and prevent inflation from eroding the values of food stamps.

Second Harvest Heartland is providing training and leadership to a national network of food bank executives who are advocating for the stronger nutrition title. The full Senate is expected to consider a vote after Thanksgiving, before moving to a conference committee to rec-oncile differences with the House Farm Bill passed in July 2007. Final action on the bill, including the President’s signature, is not expected before mid-December 2007 or January 2008.

For the second consecutive year, Famous Dave’s kicked off its Annual Meeting with a memorable team-building experience in the SHH food bank.

The event led Second Harvest Heartland to re-position the cor-porate volunteer experience as a great opportunity for teambuild-ing. “Famous Dave’s raised the bar and set an expectation for other volunteer groups,” said Ray. “They helped us be a better motivator and became a benchmark in terms of productivity and enthusiasm for other groups.”

We’re Looking for a few Good PeopleSecond Harvest Heartland cannot achieve its mission to end hunger without the legions of volun-teers who offer their time and talent to assist with everything from packing boxes of food and to helping with administrative projects to coordinating special events or making deliveries to home-bound clients. Many private, civic and corporate groups find volunteering at SHH makes a great team building activity!

The recent Volunteer Recognition Event celebrated these partners who have contributed to SHH’s mission of ending hunger in the Heartland.

For more information about volunteering at Second Harvest Heartland, contact Dennie Scott, Volunteer Manager, at dscott@2harvest.org or 651.209.7939.

The full Senate is expected to consider a vote on the Farm Bill

after Thanksgiving. This bill, which comes around every five

years, contains funding for vital nutrition programs that are

provided by SHH.

3Inside the Heartland

Ending Hunger continued from page 1

Upcoming EventsMark your calendar for these upcoming

special events. For more information, please visit www.2harvest.org and click

on “Events.”

Canadian Pacific Railway Holiday TrainDecember 11, 2007

Two freight trains decorated with thou-sands of Christmas lights carry musicians who will entertain crowds from boxcars that convert into performance stages. Money and non-perishable food will be collected. Call 800-766-7912 or visit www.cpr.ca for complete schedule.

Mpls.St.Paul Magazine Best of the Best Party

February 18, 2008An annual party that celebrates the best of the Twin Cities. Proceeds from advance ticket sales go directly to Second Harvest Heartland.

More Success with Recent FundraisersBremer Banks

For the second year, Bremer Bank part-nered with Second Harvest Heartland and Hubbard Radio to promote awareness of hunger relief in May and June. The multifac-eted promotion included radio announce-ments and a Radio-A-Thon on June 5, newspaper and magazine advertising, letters to the editor, truck advertisements, aware-ness at a Twins baseball game, and strong men doing the “heavy lifting” in the fight to

end hunger. The Otto Bremer Foundation issued a challenge grant to match donations up to $50,000. A grand total of $138,454.66 was raised through this creative and inno-vative partnership. Cub Foods hosted a $1 breakfast on Hunger Awareness Day on the Minneapolis Nicollet Mall to round out the many events that made so many more peo-ple aware of the nearly invisible problem of hunger in our communities.

ASIDThe American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) showcase home tour held in May raised $8,837.51 to support SHH hunger relief efforts.

Cub Foods’ Round-UpThis fundraiser netted an amazing total of $157,000! Customers donated $107,000, and Cub matched $50,000. This is double last year’s donation of $78,500.

Transfer Funds from your IRA: Help Feed More Hungry People!Last summer, the Pension Protection Act of 2006 was signed into law. This new opportunity allows you to contribute IRA funds without tax penalties. But the dead-line is December 31, 2007, so you must act now!

If you (or someone you know) are age 70-1/2 or older, and you own a traditional or Roth IRA, you may directly transfer it to Second Harvest Heartland without consid-ering it in your taxable income.

Contact your tax professional for more information. DISH: Cuisine for Change

Mark your calendar for Thursday, April 24th, 2008, for DISH:

Cuisine for Change, SHH’s annual gala. Look for

more information soon on www.2harvest.org.

With your help and support, Second Harvest Heartland looks to the future with creative, enthusiastic vigor. SHH is committed to closing the gap between need and supply and aspiring to the goal of ending hunger in the Heartland.

Prefer to Receive This Newsletter Via Email?If you’d like to receive our quarterly newsletter as a PDF via email, rather

than a hard copy, please contact Nicki Kruszka at 651.209.7941 or nkruszka@2harvest.org.

Lend a hand to fight hunger

Bremer Bank’s “Make Change” campaign was the cornerstone of Hunger Awareness Week.

NonprofitOrganization

US Postage PaidSecond Harvest

Heartland

Inside the HeartlandFall 2007

Second Harvest Heartland1140 Gervais Avenue

St. Paul, MN 55109-2020Phone: 651.484.5117

Toll Free: 888.339.3663Fax: 651.484.1064

2harvest.orgHeidi Stennes - Director of

Communications and Media RelationsTricia Theurer - Communications Specialist

Inside the Heartland is published for the partners and stakeholders of

Second Harvest Heartland throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

Every measure has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the names and information printed in this newsletter. We apologize if we have overlooked any organization or individual.

Joining forces to end hunger

A member of America’s Second Harvest - The Nation’s Food Bank Network

Inside: Our Mission to End Hunger. . .

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