harvest news - Forgotten Harvest

HARVEST NEWS
Metro Detroit’s Only Food Rescue Organization I Driving Hunger from Our Community Since 1990 I spring 2013
No School . . .
Means No Breakfast or Lunch For Many Kids This Summer in our Metro Detroit Community
Remember summer vacation? Nothing was better than the thought
of having weeks with no worries. That’s not the case for all of our
community’s children. For thousands of children in metro Detroit,
summer vacation may mean not having
enough to eat. During the school year,
our kids wake up every weekday
morning knowing that at least they
will be able to have a nourishing
breakfast and a hot lunch through
their school lunch or breakfast
program.
During the summer it’s a much
different story — especially now,
O
D
R
when 1 in 4 metro Detroit children
O U R KI
are living in poverty. For these children,
there may not be any meals except those
provided by Forgotten Harvest. These kids live in your neighborhood
with families who are struggling to provide food for their children.
Please support the Forgotten Harvest Million Meal Challenge. Help
us ensure that metro Detroit children will have a “summer vacation from
hunger.” Donate today at www.forgottenharvest .org or call 888-332-7140
seven days a week.
F
S
MIL
LI
NGE
LE
MEAL CHAL
N
O
Thanks to generous donations from the PNC Foundation and GM
Foundation, every $1 you give up to $85,000 means we can provide
10 meals to kids in need.
Detroit Tiger Torii Hunter
Goes To Bat For Our Kids
Torii Hunter - Detroit Tiger
He hasn’t forgotten. Growing up in Pine
Bluff, Arkansas, Torii and his grandmother
waited in line to eat at a food pantry called
Neighbor to Neighbor. Torii still supports
that organization and a food pantry near
his off-season home in Plano, Texas. This
summer Torii will be featured in Forgotten
Harvest public service announcements to be
run on the Fox Sports Network Tigers game
broadcasts. Thanks, Torii!
On Heroes & Hope
One in four of our children in metro
Detroit face hunger or a lack of food. In
a nation and community of plenty, that
number is staggering and difficult for most of
us to grasp.
At Forgotten Harvest, our number one
commitment is to be certain our children get
the healthy food they deserve.
Once again, I come to you with a plea to
help our kids this summer by supporting our
fourth annual One Million Meal Challenge.
Without your help, many of our kids will be
deprived of meals they would normally get
through school breakfast and lunch programs.
The economic crisis had a devastating
impact on our families. The 2010 American
Community Survey, conducted by the U.S.
Census Bureau, confirmed a continuation
of a trend that began in the second half of
the last decade-poverty rates increasing in
both suburbs as well as the City of Detroit.
Poverty in our suburbs has increased by
96.4 %. Hunger and a lack of food are now
pervasive in neighborhoods throughout
metro Detroit.
We face the future undaunted and
filled with hope, though, knowing that the
immense heart and spirit of metro Detroit
will sustain us and enable us to reach the
day when no child has to go to bed hungry.
I would offer our deepest thanks to the
86,000 Forgotten Harvest donors, 9,200
volunteers and 260 agencies on the frontline
of hunger serving thousands of people in
need every day. You are truly heroes!
Spice Up Your Fundraising
Efforts With Garden Fresh
Jack Aronson was owner/operator of
Clubhouse Barbecue on Woodward Avenue
in Ferndale, Michigan, when he ignited
the fresh salsa revolution. Fifteen
years later, Garden Fresh,
with headquarters
located in Ferndale,
is the number-one
fresh salsa in North
America employing
over 400 people.
Working
in conjunction
with Jack, who
supports a
number of charities
across metro Detroit, we
have created “Forgotten Harvest
Fundraising Heroes,” a program that
makes it easy to raise funds for your nonprofit
organization, group or clubs by selling the
exciting line of Garden Fresh products.
Any organization or group can now raise
funds by selling the Garden Fresh line of
deli-quality snacks and dips and become a
Forgotten Harvest Hero-helping us feed
the hungry in our community. Garden
Fresh has committed to a cash donation
to Forgotten Harvest over and
above the profits earned
by the participating
organization’s
fundraising efforts.
You win-and hungry
people across metro
Detroit win!
Jack and
the Garden
Fresh crew
have set a
goal to generate funds
that will help Forgotten Harvest
serve one million meals. We call it
the Million Meal Harvest™ and you can
help us reach that goal by featuring Garden
Fresh products in your next fundraiser.
Organizations can keep all the profits
generated through the program, or donate a
portion (or all) to the Garden Fresh Million
Meal Harvest program. It’s your choice!
For full details on this exciting new way to raise funds for your nonprofit
organization, club or group, call Carol Bahri at 248-336-8486; e-mail her at
cbahri@gardenfreshsalsa.com; or visit the Million Meal Harvest web site at
www.gardenfreshsalsa.com/fundraisingheroes.
Susan Ellis Goodell
President and CEO
Jack Aronson, Founder and President, Garden Fresh Gourmet
On the Frontline of Hunger:
Our Partner Agencies in Action
Open Door Food Ministries, Canton, MI
Open Door Food Ministry in Canton lies at
the foot of a mountainous landfill and serves as a
microcosm of the need for food in Southeastern
Michigan and model of efficient food distribution.
Housed in a former cardboard box factory,
volunteers from around the community help feed
their neighbors in an operation that showcases
the skills of its founding and current leadership
— a former auto industry engineer. A well-oiled
assembly process helps volunteers send boxes
down rollers to be filled with a mix of fresh,
perishable food and then placed in color-coded
carts designated for small, medium or large
families. Every Thursday night, up to 500 families
are served.
As each car pulls up to the dock, their barcoded ID card — issued after an application and
interview by Open Door staff to determine need — is scanned and the correct cart for the family
size is rolled out. Food is loaded by the volunteers into recipient vehicles.
“We have a microcosm of America right here,” said Steve Darr, who co-directs Open Door
with his wife Jackie. “These are people who have lost their jobs, many are now working part
time whose income has been drastically reduced. After people pay their car, house, medical and
insurance bills, sometimes there just isn’t enough for food.”
Steve Darr (right), his wife Jackie and
mom-in-Law Faye Hysinger. Faye is
80 years old and participates in food
distribution every Thursday night
without fail.
Waterford Senior Center, Waterford, MI
The Waterford Senior Center has seen the need for food assistance grow tremendously in recent years.
The Center has partnered with Forgotten Harvest since 2010. About 165 meals a day are delivered to homebound
seniors, many of whom are at or below the poverty level. Over the past few years, though, a surprisingly diverse group
of people from all age groups have begun
to reach out to the Center for help – single
parents with low-income jobs, larger
families where one or both parents had
been unemployed and — a new trend —
adult children moving back in with their
parents due to economic hardship.
During an average week, the Waterford
Senior Center distributes Forgotten
Harvest food to between 90 to 100
individuals every Tuesday. Maureen
Margraff, Coordinator and Program and
Nutrition Supervisor at the Center, believes
these individuals probably represent as
many as 300-400 people who wouldn’t
otherwise have access to food the next week.
Maureen Margraff, Coordinator and Program
“The people we work with tell us that we have no idea what
and Nutrition Supervisor, at the Waterford
this means to them and how much this helps their families,” said
Senior Center
Margraff. “We hear constant stories of people having to choose
between medication, heating their homes or food. Many of these
individuals have nowhere else to turn.”
“We hear constant
stories of people
having to choose
between medication,
heating their homes
or food.”
Feeding the Minds Of Future Scholars
HEROES
Volunteers Hit a Record 21,540 Hours of
Service during January–April 2013
at Forgotten Harvest
Patrice Merritt, Executive Director, Detroit Public Library Friends Foundation, with our future scholars
and Brian Glowiak, Vice President, The Chrysler Foundation
Forgotten Harvest, in partnership with the Detroit Public Library and The Chrysler
Foundation, has launched an innovative program to provide afterschool nourishment to children
utilizing the Detroit Public Library branches. The program enables DPL librarians to combat
hunger in the City of Detroit for those most vulnerable, our children, through the distribution of
a healthy afternoon snack or meal alternative.
The idea for the program evolved after Brian Glowiak, Vice President of The Chrysler
Foundation, met with Detroit Public Library Friends Foundation Executive Director Patrice
Merritt to learn more about library services and how Chrysler might help. Glowiak recognized
the potential of the library as another means to provide direct assistance to Detroit families in need.
The libraries serve as a haven for afterschool activities such as homework help, tutoring,
reading and literary assistance. “When students are hungry, it is difficult for them to focus on
their studies. Our librarians see hunger daily in our branches and understand that an afterschool
snack may be for some the last meal of the day,” stated Lurine Carter, Coordinator of Children’s’
Services at the Detroit Public Library.
Currently 18 library branches serve over 1,750 nutritious snacks in the course of a week
distributed by Forgotten Harvest.
Advance Capital – 114 Hours
Blue Cross Blue Shield – 123 Hours
Chandler Park Academy – 120 Hours
Consumer Bankruptcy Assoc. – 138 Hours
Chrysler – 258 Hours
City Year – 270 Hours
DTE – 261 Hours
Eton Academy – 186 Hours
Fifth Third Bank – 220 Hours
Finesse Fast Pitch – 102 Hours
Ford Motor Company – 435 Hours
GM – 610 Hours
Greenhills School – 175 Hours
JP Morgan Chase – 180 Hours
Jewish Vocational Services – 150 Hours
Lakeview High School – 135 Hours
LTU – 165 Hours
Macomb Christian Church – 163 Hours
Macomb Community College – 183 Hours
Macy’s – 150 Hours
Maharashtra Mandal of Detroit – 105 Hours
Michigan Adventures Club – 111 Hours
Plymouth 8th Grade – 171 Hours
Phi BETA Sigma Fraternity Inc. – 129 Hours
Quicken Loans – 561 Hours
U of M – 216 Hours
United Way – 118 Hours
University Prep Academy – 234 Hours
Other Individuals and Groups – 988 Hours
6,909 volunteers dedicated their time
to help feed the hungry. Thank you!
A New Era: Forgotten Harvest Launches Farm Operations
FAR MS
Volunteers are needed to help in the harvest
this summer and fall. Contact Marci Fitch at
248-967-1500 ext. 125, or visit our web site.
Operations are in full
swing at our new Ore
Creek Farm. Thanks
to the generosity of
Nora Moroun, who
donated 92 acres of
land, we are now on
our way to harvesting
an estimated two
million pounds of
produce for the
tables of Metro
Detroit families in
need. Pictured left to
right: Patricia Larson,
Forgotten Harvest
volunteer; Nicole
Heins, Farm Events
Coordinator; Sandy
Gabel, Director of
Agriculture & Agency
Relations; and Nora
Moroun, Forgotten
Harvest Board
Member.
21800 Greenfield Road
Oak Park, MI 48237
(248) 967-1500
www.forgottenharvest.org
For all the freshest information, visit our
website at www.forgottenharvest.org
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