food

Southwestern Virginia
Second Harvest Food Bank

for thought
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Fall 2009

Names and photos used in this story have been

changed to protect the identity of clients

Seniors Struggle: True stories of hunger in Southwest Virginia

Ruth receives $53 a month in Food Stamps. The meager waiting room... waiting for her turn to receive the food
amount wouldn’t be enough for Ruth to live on alone assistance she so desperately needs.
and with a family of four, it’s simply impossible. That’s
why this struggling senior sits patiently inside her local Unfortunately, Ruth is not
food pantry waiting for the brown paper grocery bag alone in her struggle.
filled with the necessities that will last her household According to the U.S. What’s Inside
another week. Census Bureau, nearly 10%
p.2 -A Message from the
of individuals 65 or older
President & CEO
Unable to work and with only $53 a month in food live below the poverty
stamps, Ruth struggles to keep up with life’s necessities level. Nationwide, it’s p.4 - Staff Stories
by stretching her disability check as far as it will take estimated that nearly four
her. The disability check she receives at the beginning million seniors struggle in p.6 - Hunger Horizon
of each month is carefully distributed for rent, poverty. Seniors who, like
electricity, water, and sewer. What’s left isn’t enough Ruth, depend on food p.7 - Granting Success
for groceries and that’s why Ruth is left sitting in this assistance to survive.
Board of Directors A MESSAGE
James E. Pearman, Jr.
Board President fr om the President & CEO
Fee-Only Financial Planning,
LC Founding Member
Daniel Barchi The beauty of Southwest Virginia in It’s true the Southwestern Virginia
Board Vice President
Carilion Biomedical Institute the fall can be intoxicating. The Second Harvest Food Bank serves
President and CEO mountains burst with vibrant colors, some of the most photo friendly
Neil Birkhoff signaling the start of a new season. regions in the state, but it’s also true
Board Secretary
Woods Rogers, Attorneys at that your Food Bank’s 26 county, 10
Law Principal Attorney It’s lost on very few that the rural city service territory covers some of
Kathy Gravely region of Virginia we call home offers the most impoverished regions
Individual some of the most fantastic, awe in the state.
Pamela Irvine inspiring sceneries on the east coast,
SWVA Second Harvest Food
Bank, President & CEO especially in the autumn. But let us As mother nature sheds her summer
Teresa Lynch
not forget that living within the reds green and braces for the cold season
R.T. Lynch Transport & and yellows of these beautiful ahead, let us remember the
Logistics, Vice President - mountain landscapes are tens of
Operations working-poor families, elderly couples
thousands of men, women and and single parents that are also making
Donna McManners
Kroger, Print Advertising children struggling with hunger. preparations for a long winter.
Manager
Rev. Nouhad Melki Struggling families that will have to
Atkins First Church of God
Senior Pastor add expensive heating bills on top of
a mountain of bills. These families
Jon Painter
American Electric Power will certainly need a helping hand
Human Resources Consultant as temperatures plummet and thanks to
John F. Shoulders, Jr. you, the Food Bank’s more than 340
New Century Development
Co., LLC partner agency feeding programs
Managing Member will be there to help those in need
Chris Thompson this winter.
Pelican Management, Inc.
Principal
Christine Nelson
Virginia Career VIEW/
Virginia Tech
Outreach Coordinator
Jason Hartman
Brown Edwards &
Company LLP
Assurance Services Partner

www.swvafoodbank.org 2
 2009 Agency Conference & Training Looking for a Speaker?
The Southwestern Virginia
Second Harvest Food Bank is
happy to provide speakers for
an array of topics such as:

Understanding the Food Bank:

A guide to understanding the
process of the Food Bank and
a general overview of the
various programs offered.
From Kids Cafe and Backpack
programs, to safe food
handling and financial
planning, you may be surprised
at what’s happening at the
Food Bank.

The Southwestern Virginia Second
Harvest Food Bank’s annual Agency
Conference & Training’s 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
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Hunger Education:
Causes, solutions, and actions.
2009 Mobile Food Pantry Training
Volunteering:
sure the hungry have every available Explore unique ways that
opportunity to overcome their children and adults can
poverty status. volunteer individually or
as a group.
The trainings allow the Food Bank’s Contact Harry VanGuilder by
partner agencies the chance to enhance phone at (540) 342-3011
their soup kitchen, rescue mission or ext.42, or by email at
hvanguilder@swvafoodbank.org
food pantry through various sessions to explore dates and topics of
including grant writing, public your choice.
relations, disaster training, children’s
nutrition, mobile pantries and
much more.

COMING  SOON!
Look for details about the Southwestern Virginia Second
Harvest Food Bank’s expansion efforts in the Spring edition
of our “Food for Thought” newsletter. We’ll have all the
details regarding the Food Bank’s 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 Bank’s “Food for Thought” newsletter!

3

Visit the Food Bank
“The tour was truly enlightening.
Never in my thoughts did I have
any idea of what you do at that
location. 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!
Roanoke Valley
Distribution Center
Administrative Office
1025 Electric Road, Salem, VA
Appalachian
Distribution Center
126 Russell Rd., Abingdon, VA
www.swvafoodbank.org
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
James Andrews, looking for a job. If
Salvage Coordinator you ask today, he’ll
tell you he doesn’t 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 family’s table the next day and
that makes my job special.”
James coordinates the Food Bank’s food
rescue program known as the Salvage
Program. It’s here that dented cans and
creased boxes filled with perfectly safe
and consumable food are rescued from
William Flemming High School’s“Bank on It”
4 participants rescue food for the hungry.
ending up in the landfill. “Grocers and
retailers used to not have a choice but to
throw this food away, but thanks to the
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 work.
But thanks to his upbeat personality and
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. “It’s not like a punch
in, punch out type of job atmosphere
here in salvage. It’s fun, it’s happy and
we are going to laugh! They’re volun-
teers, donating their time and so I make

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, there’s no stopping
them. They don’t even want to take
a break.”
You may be laughing when you’re with
James, but rest assured you will be
working. Rescuing food is no small task.
First, all the items must be Pre-Sorted.
That’s when broken and leaking contain-
ers are thrown away, the salvageable
items are wiped down, expiration dates
are checked and finally the food is
experts. Contact Us
Roanoke Distribution Center
boxed. Next, volunteers do Final-Sort. (540) 342-3011
That’s when all the boxed Pre-Sort is Appalachian Distribution Center
re-checked, re-wiped, and this time (276) 628-9266
labeled with a sticker reading “Donated, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Not for Sale.” The third step is to weigh Pamela Irvine,
all the Final-Sort and you guessed it, President & CEO
inspect the product for a third time. If pirvine@swvafoodbank.org
the food passes the test and is safe and
consumable, it is distributed to the Food Amy Milberger,
V.P. of Development
Bank’s partner agency feeding programs.
amilberger@swvafoodbank.org
In all, about 60,000 pounds of food is
rescued, following this process, every Dave Bethel,
month. And James couldn’t do it alone. Director of Operations
dbethel@swvafoodbank.org
“I have had all sorts of volunteers:
employees from local businesses, Becki Wildenberger,
congressmen, attorney generals, beauty Programs Manager
queens, school groups... you name it and rwildenberger@swvafoodbank.org
they have volunteered with me. For me,
coming to the Food Bank and doing my Kitty Tabor,
Food Procurement Manager
job isn’t about getting a pay check. It’s
ktabor@swvafoodbank.org
about feeding hungry people and I
couldn’t do it without my volunteers.” Harry VanGuilder,
Volunteer Services Coordinator
hvanguilder@swvafoodbank.org
Jeremy Butterfield,
Communications Coordinator
jbutterfield@swvafoodbank.org
Gary Mitchell,
Operations Supervisor
gmitchell@swvafoodbank.org
Edward Roberts,
Development Officer
eroberts@swvafoodbank.org
5
Organize a Fundraiser!
Did you know that for every
$1.00 you donate for the
hungry, the Food Bank can
distribute $6.00 worth of
food? That’s more than three
meals 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 at
amilberger@swvafoodbank.org
Organize a Food Drive!
Food drives are essential to
the Food Bank’s cause. Not
only do food drives bring in
much needed non-perishable
items, they also raise the
hunger awareness of every-
one involved. Contact Kitty
Tabor, Food Procurement
Manager at (540) 342-3011
ext.19 or reach Kitty by email
at ktabor@swvafoodbank.org
Organize a Volunteer Day!
More than 2,000 volunteers
donated more than 18,000
hours of their time last year
to help the hungry in
Southwest Virginia. There
are a variety of tasks at the
Food Bank that volunteers
can help with. Contact Harry
VanGuilder, Director of
Volunteer Services at
(540) 342-3011 ext. 42, or
reach Harry by email at
hvanguilder@swvafoodbank.org
www.swvafoodbank.org
Kitty Tabor, Food Procurement Manager, accepts food donations at 2009 Craftsmen’s Classic
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‘09 Craftsmen’s Classic
On the Hunger Horizon!
HolidaysHeart
Increased donations help fill need
Any time the Southwestern Virginia
Second Harvest Food Bank experiences
FROM THE
an increase in donations during an annual F O O D D R I V E
event it is something to celebrate, but Anyone and everyone can participate in this
this year’s increase during the 2009 holiday food drive. Businesses, churches,
Craftsmen’s Classic Arts & Crafts individuals, clubs, civic organizations... if you
Festival, in the midst of a significantly want to hold a food drive, just contact Kitty
Tabor, ktabor@swvafoodbank.org, and she’ll
worse economy than seen in years past give you all the details! It’s that simple!
was especially encouraging to witness.
Keep your ears open for
another exciting Food
For the third year in a row, show Bank & K92 Mornin’
promoters made this one and only stop Thang collaboration.
on their fall tour free to the public. Danny, Zach & Monica are back at it again.
Instead of admission, visitors were Details coming this fall. Listen up!
encouraged to bring non-perishable food
HOLIDAY Salem, VA - Stop by the
donations to the Roanoke Civic Center. Open House Food Bank’s Roanoke
Valley Distribution Center on December 8th for
The effort paid off! In only three days a snack, a tour of our more than two million
cubic foot warehouse and some hunger
time, residents donated more than
education. Tours conducted 3p.m.-7p.m.
28,000 pounds of sorely needed food to
the hungry. Abingdon, VA- Stop by the Appalachian
Distribution Center on November 20th,
Our heartfelt thanks goes out to each and Tours conducted 12p.m. - 6p.m.
every one of you who donated food dur- Indulge your sweet tooth and
ing this year’s show. And a special support your Food Bank! Visit
thanks to show promoters, Clyde and any Ruby Tuesdays, order a
Tami Gilmore, as well as WDBJ7 for half-dozen gourmet cookies for take out or
catering orders and Ruby Tuesday will donate
sponsoring the show.
10% of the sales to the hungry!
6
 New Tr uck GRANTS New Life Benefit Performance
A magnificent choral/
orchestral work
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . celebrating the joy
of Christmas.
The Southwestern Virginia Second picking up food at this year’s
Harvest Food Bank picks up more than Craftsmen’s Classic food drive). If not A CD recording will be
51,000 pounds of donated food from for the grant, the truck would have cost made and sold with
local and regional retail food donors the Food Bank $90,000. That’s $90,000 proceeds benefiting the
each week and until recently, the Food the Food Bank just didn’t have Food Bank.
Bank’s fleet of trucks could barely available for a new truck.
handle the strain. Featuring: Festival Choir,
The award was made possible through Members of
the Roanoke Symphony,
The average age of our fleet of trucks the Lincy Foundation’s Store Donation
Rebekah Pence,
was 12 years old. Each truck, boasting Vehicle Grant Program and is truly the Danny Horsly &
hundreds of thousands of miles on the gift that keeps on giving! Our 340+ CSUMC Choristers Choir
odometer, was subject to frequent partner agencies that directly feed the
breakdowns and with 12,000 square hungry through food pantries or on-site Magnificat
miles of service territory to cover, the meal programs are the true beneficiaries Mark Milberger
fleet wasn’t getting any stronger! of this gift! December 12, 2009
8:45 Am & 11:00 AM
But things are beginning to look up. Thank you Feeding America and the Cave Spring United
Recently, the Food Bank was blessed to Lincy Foundation for providing the Methodist Church
have been among the winners of a grant infrastructure Food Banks need to 4505 Hazel Drive, SW
competition facilitated by Feeding continue to provide food for the Roanoke, VA 24018
America, our national affiliate, that millions of hungry people across the
awarded the Food Bank a shiny new 22 nation! The need has never been greater.
foot refrigerated truck (shown below

Lincy Truck picking up donated food at the

2009 Craftsmen’s Classic food drive. 7
 Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Permit No. 160
Roanoke, VA

For more information, please contact:

Southwestern Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank

Roanoke Valley Distribution Center

Administrative Office
1025 Electric Road
Salem, VA 24153
(540) 342-3011
Fax: (540) 342-0056

food for thought

Written and designed in-house.
SWVA Second Harvest Food Bank
is a nonprofit 501(c)3 charity and
all gifts are tax-deductible.
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Brighten aLifeand illuminate a soul this Holiday Season

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.

Order Form: Note: If you have more than one Memorial or Honorarium, this form may be duplicated.
Make check payable to: SWVA Second Harvest Food Bank Brighten A Life Mail to: 1025 Electric Rd. Salem, VA 24153.
Please send Thank-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:__________