From the desk of the Executive Director

Inside the HeartlandA Publication of Second Harvest Heartland

Fall 2006

1Inside the Heartland

In the last issue of Inside the Heartland, I shared with you thenews about updating our mission and focus from fighting hungerthrough community partnerships, to ending hunger through

community partnerships. Just a change of one word – but imaginethe world of difference in our communities with the realization ofthat vision where everyone has access to food and proper nutrition.

Access to food would mean that all of our children would have thenutrients to learn and develop to their full potential; that all seniors

could obtain the food they need to stay healthy and independent; that working familieswould not have to choose between paying bills and buying groceries.

As our 2007 fiscal year begins, Second Harvest Heartland is embarking on a crusade toeliminate the gap between the amount of food we distribute and the amount we estimatewould be needed to provide access to all those who need hunger relief in our 59-countyservice area. Currently, those numbers are 30 million pounds and 71 million pounds, respectively. This 41 million pound shortfall is what werefer to as “The Gap.” It was calculated using a national food banking methodology applied to the specifics of our service area. We are nowdeveloping a plan involving one-year, five-year and long-term strategies that will systematically reduce and eventually eliminate The Gap.

Second Harvest Heartland is increasing our capacity to warehouse and distribute greater quantities of food. Our recent construction of acooler/freezer will more than triple our capacity. We are also assessing the efficiency of our distribution processes to maximize output whileminimizing operating expenses, which is especially challenging during this time of dramatically rising fuel and transportation costs.

To distribute the quantities of food needed to eliminate The Gap, we know that the capacity of our network of food shelves, soup kitchens, sheltersCCoonnttiinnuueedd oonn ppaaggee 33......

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Five years ago this month, SecondHarvest Heartland completed themerger of the Greater Minneapolis

and St. Paul Food Banks in a move to moreeffectively combat the rising incidence ofhunger in the Heartland. Combiningresources to improve efficiencies in the pro-curement and distribution of supplementalfood was the goal and has been the major

achievement of the successful merger thus far.

Now, with more than 125 million pounds ofproducts distributed since October, 2001,Second Harvest Heartland forges aheadinto the 2006 Holiday Season armed withan inspiring new mission -- and battling aneed that has risen 45 percent just since2001. Now, 169,600 citizens in our 59-

county service area visit our member agen-cies each month. Roughly half of thosebeing served are children. The fastest risinggroups in need are working families andseniors on fixed incomes.

Donors will help Second Harvest Heartlanddistribute nearly 5 million pounds of foodthis November and December. Imagine

CCoonnttiinnuueedd oonn ppaaggee 22......

The 7,200-square foot addition of the new cooler/freezerwill allow space for more than 650 additional pallet bins.

SHH Prepares for Increased Needs of the Holiday Season

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Volunteer Spotlight

Cub Foods has been regularly bringing volunteer groups to helpbox food for our Supplemental Food programs. For nearly fiveyears the group, organized by John Thompson, has come at leasttwice a year, bringing the whole spectrum of Cub staff, from storedirectors to field staff and corporate employees. From an initialgroup of six volunteers, the group now provides about 30 volun-teers each time. The Cub Foods group still holds the record formost boxes packed in a shift: 2,236!

2 Inside the Heartland

Advocacy Update

HHuunnggeerr SSuummmmiittOpinions are shaped by those who show upand speak up. Because showing up andspeaking up are such critical elements toending hunger in Minnesota, Second HarvestHeartland (SHH), in partnership withHormel Foods Corporation and America’sSecond Harvest, is convening a HungerSummit on December 4 in Minneapolis.

The Hunger Summit, first of its kind inMinnesota, will engage panelists, publicofficials and leaders from business, themedia, the professions, faith-based andcommunity organizations in discussions onthe causes and consequences of hunger.

If you would like to receive an invitation, contact SandraStanton at 651-209-7949, sstanton@2harvest.org.Space is limited.

MMiinnnneessoottaa HHuunnggeerr 110011SHH is collaborating with the Evangelical

Lutheran Church of America and the JewishCommunity Relations Council to conductMinnesota Hunger 101, an experientialhunger education program. ThroughMinnesota Hunger 101, participants take onthe case identity of hungry individuals andmust work through a variety of social andfinancial barriers to secure enough food for aday. The program raises awareness and pro-vides a platform for thoughtful discussions

CCoonnggrreessssiioonnaall aanndd LLeeggiissllaattiivvee AAccttiioonnThroughout the past months, we haveworked with our Congressional delegation tosupport legislation that now provides taxincentives for businesses and individuals whodonate food to food banks and food shelves.We also persuaded lawmakers to resist cuts toFederal nutrition programs and then secureda $200,000 annual appropriation from theMinnesota Legislature to purchase milk.Second Harvest Heartland also initiated thecreation of a bi-partisan Legislative HungerCaucus to bring together Minnesota legisla-

tors concerned about hunger.

Second Harvest Heartland’s advocacy initiatives includepublic information, hunger education and public policy.To learn more or comment about advocacy, contactNewell Searle, VP of External Relations, 651.209.7936,nsearle@2harvest.org.

The expansion of the cooler/freezer was made possible with the generous support of Cargilland Sunny Fresh Foods, F.R. Bigelow Foundation, Frey Foundation, General Mills

Foundation, Land ‘O Lakes Foundation, Mardag Foundation and the Saint Paul Foundation.

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Holiday Need ……ffrroomm PPaaggee 11

foregoing your Thanksgiving meal andits familial comforts because yourmonthly bills have exhausted yourresources. Thousands in our communi-ties would have no meal at all onThanksgiving were it not for the gen-erosity and compassion of our food andfund donors.

Support before and during this HolidaySeason will help Second HarvestHeartland provide more food and betternutrition for those in need. ThisHoliday Season, we are armed with boththe vision and resolve to end hunger.

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Cub Foods employees have volunteered their packing skills for five years at Second Harvest Heartland.

Janene Connelly, CFRE, has joined our forces as VicePresident of Advancement. She is managing the nine-per-son team that is responsible for fundraising, communica-tions, grant writing, events and volunteer management.

With more than 25 years of diverse experience in Advancement,Janene has worked with such notable institutions as theUniversity of Minnesota, Goodwill Industries of Dallas, andmost recently Catholic Charities of St. Paul-Minneapolis.

With an MA in Philanthropy and a B.S. in Nutrition, Janenebrings a wealth of expertise to SHH, and is charged withtaking us to higher levels of fundraising and communica-tions. Janene lives in Little Canada with her husband andtwo terriers, Zak and Tucker.

Please consider Janene a resource. Contact her at 651.209.7932 or jconnelly@2harvest.org.

and other member agencies, which serve those in need, must be increased. We will alsoneed to expand the number of agencies, as much as doubling the 800 we currently serve.

Ending hunger is indeed a challenging objective – yet it is absolutely attainable in ourland of more-than-plenty. We have long known that the problem of hunger in theUnited States is a problem of distribution, not supply. By reducing the amount offood wasted and by redirecting surplus to help those in need, we can very quicklymake great strides eliminating The Gap.

As you read through this edition of Inside the Heartland, take a moment and paint your per-sonal vision of a community without hunger. Picture a community of greater health, betterfulfillment of potential and more productivity, and together, we will make it a reality!

We feel blessed by your partnership as we embark on our updated mission!

R. Jane BrownExecutive Director

Executive Director CCoonnttiinnuueedd ffrroomm PPaaggee 11

3Inside the Heartland

Upcoming Events:

NNoovveemmbbeerrMMiinnnneessoottaa VViikkiinnggss FFoooodd DDrriivvee aatt HHHHHHMMeettrrooddoommee NNoovveemmbbeerr 1122 Bring a non-perishable food item to theVikings vs. Packers football game. WWiinnee && JJaazzzz FFeessttiivvaall aatt MMaapplleewwooooddCCoommmmuunniittyy CCeenntteerr NNoovveemmbbeerr 44Taste over 80 different wines; enjoy deli-cious hors d’oeuvres and a live jazz vocalist.

CCiittyy PPaaggeess IIrroonn FFoorrkk aatt GGrraavveess 660011NNoovveemmbbeerr 99Featuring food from 20 restaurants, beer andwine samples, live music and a local chef battle.BB9966 FFiillll tthhee CCookkee TTrruucckkDueling DJs will compete to fill two trucks withnon-perishable food at two Cub Foods locations. LLiiffee TTiimmee FFiittnneessss TTuurrkkeeyy DDaayy 55KK aatt tthheeTTaarrggeett CCeenntteerr NNoovveemmbbeerr 2233 Gather your friends and family for aThanksgiving day run.

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We’d like to thank our community partners fortheir commitment to hunger relief.

Waste Not Want Not. Food Rescue Helps Us All!

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One of the ongoing ironies in the world ofhunger relief, as you may know, is theamount of nutritious, edible food that isthrown away at all levels of individual andinstitutional consumption. It’s frustratingand we all dislike the notion of good foodgoing to waste while so many are hungry.America’s Second Harvest estimates 96 bil-lion pounds of food are wasted annually inthe United States. If just 5 percent of thefood wasted could be recovered, an esti-mated 14 million people could be fed.

At Second Harvest Heartland (SHH) thenews involving wasted food is not all bad.Our 12 Baskets Food Rescue Program isdiverting nutritious, prepared food fromwaste. A total of 150 institutional donorscontribute nutritious food that is safely dis-tributed to 60 nonprofit agencies, such asafter-school programs for children, shelters,

senior dining programs and soup kitchens.12 Baskets Food Rescue operates five refrig-erated trucks that pick up each weekday anddeliver these foods the same day.

We see food rescue as a major componentin the quest to end hunger. We are escalat-ing efforts to procure and distribute morefood in all programs of Second HarvestHeartland, and 12 Baskets will continue toprovide more and more food to those in ourcommunity in need of hunger relief.

NonprofitOrganization

US Postage PaidSecond Harvest

Heartland

Inside the HeartlandFall 2006

Second Harvest Heartland1140 Gervais Avenue

St. Paul, MN 55109-2042Phone: 651.484.5117

Toll Free: 888.339.3663Fax: 651.484.1064

2harvest.org

“Inside the Heartland” is publishedfor the partners and stakeholders

of Second Harvest Heartlandthroughout Minnesota and

western Wisconsin.

Every measure has been taken toensure the accuracy of the namesand information printed in thisnewsletter. We apologize if we

have overlooked any organizationor individual.

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

IInnssiiddee:: Preparing for Increased

Needs of the Holiday Season…

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota is presenting the 2ndAnnual Concert Series to support hunger-relief. BlueCross will match each dollar donated to Second HarvestHeartland up to $25,000. For more information go tobluecrossmn.com and click on the “Benefit Concerts” link.

Giving Clubs

Second Harvest Heartland (SHH) is recognizing donors through threedistinct giving clubs. These clubs have been created for donors who pro-vide generous support for our vision of ending hunger through communi-ty partnerships.

TThhee HHaarrvveesstteerrss CClluubbThe Harvesters Club offers the ease and convenience of either credit card orelectronic funds transfer (EFT) for donors who prefer to make monthlygifts. We have a loyal and growing number of Harvesters since its inception.

TThhee HHeeaarrttllaanndd CCoommmmuunniittyyThis is the club for our annual financial donors who gift $1,000 (single gift orcumulative) or more annually between October 1st and September 30th (ourfiscal year). Donors who achieve this level of contribution are automaticallyenrolled in this club and receive a package of benefits upon reaching the total.

TThhee LLeeggaaccyy SSoocciieettyyMembers of The Legacy Society have included Second Harvest Heartlandin their will or estate plans. This type of giving ensures donors the oppor-tunity to make long-lasting contributions toward the fulfillment of ourmission, now and in the future.

Our three giving clubs offer members special benefits, such as invitations toour annual events, tours of the Food Bank, regular updates on our progressto end hunger, and a complimentary DVD on "Changing Face of Hunger."

If you would like more information, please contact Janene Connelly at 651.209.7932 or jcon-nelly@2harvest.org.

Invest Wisely.

$1 distributes $9 worth of food. A dollar can make a difference.

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Joining forces to end hunger