Community Food Bank is one beneficiary
The News to You
The California Governor’s and First Lady’s Conference is
continuing its Million Meals Initiative, an effort to collect at
least one million meals for families in need of help. Food and
monetary donations can be made straight to members of the
California Association of Community Food Banks, including Community
Food Bank of San Benito County.
Community Food Bank of San Benito County serves more than 3,000
families in the county, including 1,600 who receive regular
assistance. Donations can be made through Dec. 20 in the bins
located at local businesses and organizations during the annual
holiday drive.
First Lady Maria Shriver and the California Governor’s and First
Lady’s Conference on Women continued their commitment to the
Million Meals initiative Nov. 22.
Community Food Bank is one beneficiary
The News to You
The California Governor’s and First Lady’s Conference is continuing its Million Meals Initiative, an effort to collect at least one million meals for families in need of help. Food and monetary donations can be made straight to members of the California Association of Community Food Banks, including Community Food Bank of San Benito County.
Community Food Bank of San Benito County serves more than 3,000 families in the county, including 1,600 who receive regular assistance. Donations can be made through Dec. 20 in the bins located at local businesses and organizations during the annual holiday drive.
First Lady Maria Shriver and the California Governor’s and First Lady’s Conference on Women continued their commitment to the Million Meals initiative Nov. 22.
The statewide initiative seeks to help California’s Food Banks, including Community Food Bank in Hollister, meet the increased demand for food assistance during the holiday season. The conference, along with support from Shriver and Schwarzenegger, pledged to provide more than one million meals to California families in need.
“The Women’s Conference organization has worked on the frontlines to feed women’s minds, bodies and spirits, and during this time of need, we are committed to helping California women feed their families,” Shriver said in a press release. “I am so pleased that individual Californians and thousands of organizations all across the state are joining together to support struggling families. What started as a donation by the conference to provide one million meals, has through the power of partnerships and the generosity of Californians, become millions of meals for California’s families. This spirit of concern for our neighbors in need is a wonderful thing that happens every year during the holiday season, but the need for food continues after all the holiday celebrations are over. I hope the Million Meals Initiative inspires even more Californians to join us by donating to Million Meals food bank partners across the state – so we can keep this spirit of giving alive throughout the year.”
More than 3,000 families are served by Community Food Bank in San Benito County alone, with approximately 1,600 of those receiving regular assistance.
The food donated through the Million Meals Initiative will be delivered to Californians through the California Association of Food Banks’ 43 member organizations and more than 5,000 organizations across the state.
In addition to the food banks, five organizations have also been selected to receive grants.
“The holiday season is a reminder to all of us that we have a responsibility to reach out and help our fellow Californians in need,” Schwarzenegger said, in a press release. “Whether it is donating our time or food, we can make a difference in the lives of others. Maria and I hope all Californians reflect on the blessings in their lives and reach out to local food banks and donate or volunteer time during the Million Meals effort as we celebrate this season of giving.”
People can donate food, money or time to a Million Meals partner in their neighborhood, such as Community Food Bank, by visiting www.cafoodbanks.org. More on Community Food Bank of San Benito County can be found at www.communitypantry.org.
“In a time when one out of six Americans and one out of four children is experiencing food insecurity and hunger, food banks are hard pressed to meet the need for food,” said Sue Sigler, the California Association of Food Banks executive director. “We are so very grateful to Maria Shriver, The Women’s Conference, and supporters of the Million Meals Initiative, which will provide a huge boost to the efforts of food banks around the state.”
The initiative was launched with a lunchtime visit with members of Father Joe’s Villages, an organization that serves more than 5,000 people a day through its soup kitchen.
The San Diego Chargers and San Fransico 49ers football teams both collected food and money at November games in support of the effort.
Since 2004, the conference’s WE program has directly funded more than two million meals; $250,000 in grants to further the work of 33 Minerva Award recipients; 48 educational scholarships to promising women, totaling $350,000; and more than $1 million for special exhibits and educational projects to the California Museum in Sacramento.
Community Food Bank is also conducting its own annual holiday food drive.
Nearly 100 locations around the county – from offices to stores and more – put out the food bank’s barrels early in November to seek donations of non-perishable staples such as dry goods, flour, sugar, and canned goods.
Canned meats such as tuna and chicken are “really important” to the effort, noted Mary Anne Hughes, the executive director of the local food bank, because they are a good protein source.
The drive, scheduled to run through Dec. 20, “is our biggest fundraiser of the year between the money and food donated,” she said. “It used to cover us until April or so, but last year, when we got 56,000 pounds of food, it was gone by the end of February or first week of March because our volume of clients went up.”
For more information on the California Governor and First Lady’s Conference on Women, visit: www.womensconference.org.
