fall 2015
news
Tom’s Turkey Drive feeds hope for the holidays
There are few events that touch the
heart and soul of Spokane like Tom’s
Turkey Drive.
The massive food drive, entering its
16th year, is scheduled for Nov. 20 and 21
at area Rosauers stores. KREM 2 Chief
Meteorologist Tom Sherry – the event’s
namesake – is leading the charge to
spread the word. KREM 2, Rosauers and
other sponsors have set a goal to help
Second Harvest collect at least 11,000
Thanksgiving meals for families in need
in Spokane.
“Our stores really get excited and
they get behind the drive. We get a lot
of volunteers and they create a lot of fun
energy,” said Mike Shirts, chief operating
officer for Rosauers.
Supported by thousands of
volunteers and donors, Tom’s Turkey
Drive truly is all about neighbors helping
neighbors. People can purchase a
complete holiday meal to donate for just
$20 at Rosauers stores. Each meal,
which feeds a family of four, includes a
turkey and all the fixings.
“I love Tom’s Turkey Drive. I think
Volunteers are a key part of raising food and funds
for Tom’s Turkey Drive.
it just personifies the giving spirit of
Spokane,” said Harry Wilson, who
manages the Rosauers store on 29th
Avenue.
Generous sponsors keep the cost
to purchase the meals to donate as
low as possible, while giving families
twice the value in food. Franz Bakery
is donating stuffing and rolls, and
Darigold and the Dairy Farmers of
Washington are donating half gallons of
milk. Rockwood Health Systems, which
includes Deaconess Medical Center,
Valley Hospital and Medical Center, and
Rockwood Clinic, is helping to underwrite
the cost of the bags, while Numerica
Credit Union is paying for logoed T-shirts
for volunteers. For the second year,
Starbucks will hold a special fundraiser
to benefit Tom’s Turkey Drive. In addition,
Itron is covering the cost of renting the
Spokane Arena for the Tom’s Turkey
Tuesday distribution on Nov. 24.
Rosauers employees are thrilled
and excited to continue the Tom’s Turkey
Drive tradition, Shirts said, adding, “It’s
rewarding to see on distribution day how
many people we’ve helped.”
Starbucks Fundraiser
Nov. 17, 2 to 4 p.m.
Visit any company-owned Starbucks
store (a freestanding location) in
Spokane and North Idaho. All proceeds
from handcrafted beverage sales
during that time will benefit Tom’s
Turkey Drive.
AmeriCorps members lead food distributions at schools
Three hardworking AmeriCorps
members paved the way for expanded
Mobile Food Bank outreach at high-need
schools.
Last schoolyear, Emily Whittier,
Chelsey Goff and Brennan Champagne
spearheaded 221 school-based food
distributions in the greater Spokane and
Tri-Cities areas that provided 435,988
pounds of food. Each Mobile Food Bank
visit helped an average of 264 people,
including 144 children.
Whittier was just 18 when she
moved from her hometown in New
Hampshire to launch the school-based
food distributions in the Tri-Cities.
She coordinated 72 distributions at 27
schools.
AmeriCorps members Chelsey Goff, Brennan
Champange and Emily Whittier worked hard
to get food to schoolchildren in need.
Goff of Spokane Valley and
Champagne, a Gonzaga University
graduate from Leavenworth, dramatically
expanded a newly established program
in Spokane County, holding 149 free food
distributions at 42 high-need schools.
Second Harvest’s new group of
AmeriCorps members currently are
building on the success from last
schoolyear.
Second Harvest appreciated the
dedication of Champagne, Goff and
Whittier, who each successfully completed
their AmeriCorps terms of service. Thanks
to the Washington Service Corps for
placing these outstanding AmeriCorps
members at Second Harvest.
Spokane: 1234 East Front Avenue • Spokane, WA 99202 • (509) 534-6678
Tri-Cities: 5825 Burlington Loop • Pasco, WA 99301 • (509) 545-0787
2-harvest.org
Safeway/Albertsons merger increases grocery donations
time when one in seven people in
A merger joining two grocery
our region continues to struggle
chains has opened the door to
with hunger,” said Rod Wieber,
millions of additional pounds of
chief resource officer for Second
food donations to fight hunger in
Harvest. “Our Grocery Rescue
the Inland Northwest.
partners fill a crucial need for
“It’s a win-win for the people
perishable items like dairy, meat,
who need food and it’s a win-win
produce and other foods that are
for our employees and company,”
harder to come by through other
said John Ortiz, a district manager
donation channels.”
for the newly merged Safeway/
The Safeway stores join 97
Albertsons chain of grocery
other partner stores that donated
stores.
a total of 6.7 million pounds of
Ortiz and other district
food last year through Grocery
managers are helping to
Rescue, which collects retail
implemvent Second Harvest’s
The addition of Safeway stores has added hundreds of thousands of
food donations that are past their
Grocery Rescue program at 37
pounds of grocery rescue product.
Safeway stores in the region.
marketable prime, overstocked
Albertsons stores have participated in Grocery Rescue for a
or otherwise less saleable but are still good to eat. Other
decade.
Grocery Rescue partners include Big Lots, Cash & Carry,
Safeway stores started coming on board as Grocery
Costco, Fred Meyer, Haggen, Huckleberry’s Natural Market,
Rocket Market, Rosauers Supermarkets, Super 1 Foods
Rescue donors in June. This is part of a nationwide
(Spokane), Target, Trader Joe’s, Walmart, WinCo Foods and
commitment to include Safeway in retail store donation
Yoke’s Fresh Markets.
programs operated by Feeding America member food banks.
“This is a positive,” Ortiz said. “We have the opportunity
So far, the newly integrated Safeway stores have given
to put this food to good use and provide it to food banks in
nearly 400,000 pounds of food.
the area.”
“We are grateful to have the help of Safeway stores at a
Tri-Cities mom grateful for food assistance
Kelly never expected to land in a food
bank line.
But when the 41-year-old Kennewick
mom and her husband separated temporarily
to work through some relationship difficulties,
she found that she needed help feeding their
three sons left at home. Getting a job wasn’t
an option for Kelly during this challenging time
because of a disabling blood-clotting disease
that she developed after the birth of her
youngest son six years ago. Although Kelly
and her husband worked together to make
sure all of their bills were paid, she found that
$326 per month in food stamps wasn’t enough for groceries.
“There was a great variety of healthy food that I could no
longer afford to buy – like fresh fruit,” Kelly said.
When the family’s food supplies ran low, Kelly reached
Kelly
WINTER FOOD DRIVE
STOCK THE SHELVES THIS WINTER
out for help from Harvest Outreach Food
Bank in Kennewick, one of Second Harvest’s
partner agencies and a ministry of Word of
Faith Center. Volunteers at Harvest Outreach
provided Kelly with compassionate service
and some much-needed fresh fruits and
vegetables, chicken, yogurt, applesauce and
other groceries.
“Having this resource meant everything,”
Kelly said. “I appreciated it more than you
could ever know. This made a positive
difference in our lives.”
Kelly pointed out that hardship can
happen to any person at any time.
“Sometimes people hit a bump in the road,” Kelly said.
“We just needed that extra support. I hope I can pay it
forward someday.”
You can make a difference by organizing a food
or fund drive or an online fundraiser. Learn more
at 2-harvest.org/winterfooddrive.
2
The Kitchen gets people excited about healthy eating
Second Harvest’s new community
for the first time and to respond with
kitchen uses fun things like a blender bike,
enthusiasm,” Meuer said.
watermelon sharks, chalkboard cupboards
The Kitchen will help low-income
and other props to get children and adults
people build their scratch-cooking and
excited about healthy eating.
food-budgeting skills so they can stretch
“Having a pedal-powered blender that
their limited food dollars. Since fresh
makes fruit smoothies is the ultimate for
produce makes up nearly half of the
kids,” said Drew Meuer, director of kitchen
food that Second Harvest provides,
programs.
teaching food bank clients to create
Generous donors answered Second
nutritious meals is an investment that will
Harvest’s call to support this new initiative
pay healthy dividends down the road.
that will help move people from hunger to
Glen Duncan, a professor at
health and self-sufficiency. The Kitchen,
the
WSU
Elson S. Floyd College
Second Harvest AmeriCorps members Bekah Deibler
which was built in the southwest corner of and Anna Perrachio prepare fruit for a produce
of Medicine, praised The Kitchen’s
Second Harvest’s warehouse in Spokane, sampling before a recent school Mobile Food Bank.
multi-pronged approach that includes
has been up and running since July.
individual classes, train-the-trainer
The education center can accommodate up to 24
strategies and mobile nutrition education outreach. He
students for hands-on cooking classes and other activities
noted that people tend to fall into cheaper fast-food habits
that teach people how to eat well on a budget. An adjacent
because they have preconceived ideas that scratch cooking is
production room makes it possible for volunteers to assemble
expensive and time consuming.
batches of up to 300 sample meals, which will be distributed
“It’s tough for people to try to balance economics, time
with recipes and ingredients to people in need by Second
and availability,” Duncan said.
Harvest’s Mobile Food Bank and other programs.
It will take widespread changes to stem the rising tide of
Second Harvest called on several nutrition and health
“lifestyle diseases” that are entirely preventable, Duncan said,
experts to help develop The Kitchen. WSU Extension
but The Kitchen has a healthy role to play.
Spokane County Food Sense, Inland Northwest Health
“These are population-level issues,” Duncan said. “A
Services, Spokane Community College’s Inland Northwest
population-level problem requires a population-level solution.”
Culinary Academy and other organizations are providing
instructors for a wide range of classes, including training
secondharvestkitchen.org
partner agencies to provide nutrition education in their own
The Kitchen’s dedicated website offers online
communities.
registration for classes, recipes and opportunities to
The Kitchen’s mobile nutrition fairs – complete with
volunteer. Some classes are available to the general
samples of fresh fruits and vegetables – will visit area schools
public for a fee to help support The Kitchen’s free
and youth centers to help build healthy habits among children.
programming.
“It’s been really exciting to watch a child try a fruit or vegetable
Area children enjoy taste-testing fresh fruit
Fifty-five children and teenagers
attending a free summer camp at Underhill
Park in southeast Spokane got a taste
of good nutrition in between basketball
workouts and other activities.
“I think it has been really exciting for
the kiddos to try fruits and vegetables they
have never been exposed to,” said Terry
Perry, Food Sense/EFNEP manager for
WSU Spokane County Extension.
Perry was on-hand to narrate the
nutritional background of five different
types of produce samples at the park,
which is also a free summer meal site.
Kids even took home bags of fruit to share
with their families.
The produce tastings are now being
Kids get to sample fresh fruit during
offered in conjunction with Mobile Food
Mobile Food Banks.
Bank distributions at high-need schools
around Spokane County and in the Tri-Cities. Spokane
v
distributions will start to rollout cooking
demonstrations and recipes and the Tri-Cities
distributions will feature fun nutrition education.
The Underhill Park event, sponsored by
the Spokane Eastside Reunion Association,
generated lots of smiles as kids bravely tried
new and more familiar fruits. Sliced cantaloupe
tasted “volumptious” to a sandy-haired 8 yearold who gave the vitamin A-rich food a thumbsup. A 6-year-old named Bryant countered that
his first blueberry might be his last after biting
into the purple fruit, which is rich in vitamin C
and magnesium.
Perry told the kids about what the colors
of the fruit mean from a nutritional standpoint
and how they tie in with good health. Perry also
encouraged kids to keep trying different types of
fruits and vegetables as they get older because
their taste buds will change.
3
Thanks to those who fight hunger and feed hope
The summer flew
throughout the area.
by in the blink of an
Yoke’s customers
eye, but it was not
in Spokane County
without its challenges.
donated food and
Second Harvest
funds that will provide
was able to provide
30,550 meals. The
additional emergency
Tri-Cities drive raised
food supplies to
enough to provide
communities that
29,850 meals.
were ravaged by the
The Food Frenzy
wildfires thanks to
Challenge kicked off
generous donors.
this year in Spokane
Kudos to everyone
and the Tri-Cities
who donated and
with 12 businesses
Employees from Bechtel URS and its Hanford affiliates celebrated the success of their annual
helped to fight summer KNDU Bechtel URS Feeding Families Food Drive by helping out even more people in need. donating a total of
hunger. Here are a few They teamed up to volunteer during a Second Harvest Mobile Food Bank distribution that
$2,060. Dr. Stephen
helped more than 300 families in the Tri-Cities.
highlights of summer
O. Woodard, DDS
fundraisers:
and his team raised
A major thank you goes out to Walmart, its customers
$520 and went home with the Spokane Food Frenzy trophy
and partner suppliers, and Feeding America for the Fight
for raising the most funds. Abadan Blitz took top honors in
Hunger. Spark Change Campaign, which raised enough
the Tri-Cities, raising $500. Other participants in Spokane
money for Second Harvest to provide 340,000 meals for
County included
people in need. The campaign engaged Walmart customers
Itron, Inc., Zenith
to donate at the register. Walmart’s food industry partners
American Solutions,
donated a portion of the sales from designated products to
Cochrane and
work toward eliminating hunger.
Company, The Brace
AgriBeef, the Washington State Beef Commission,
Place at Grummons
Washington beef producers, Rosauers Supermarkets,
Orthodontics and
and KREM 2’s Chief Meteorologist Tom Sherry and his
Combs Orthodontics
“BBQ Forecast” teamed up for a very successful summer
of Spokane. Tricampaign to help Second Harvest get more protein to hungry Cities businesses
people through the Beef Counts program. The campaign
included Mid-Columbia
raised more than $20,000 to purchase beef products for
Insurance, Separating
Spokane Food Frenzy Challenge winners —
people in need. Since 2010, this beef industry initiative has
Eternity Productions,
Dr. Stephen O. Woodard, DDS
provided $459,000 worth of beef products – about 750,000
Edible Arrangements
meals – for hungry children and adults.
and ServiceMaster Clean.
Thank you to the Spokane Association of REALTORS®
Christmas in July, sponsored by Positive Life Radio,
and Albertsons stores for their annual Pack the Pantry
raised food and funds for nearly 22,000 meals for hungry
Food Drive. Held on Sept. 10 and 11, the drive raised
people during drives held in Spokane, Tri-Cities and in North
44,820 pounds of food and $11,725 to help Second Harvest
Idaho. Thank you to Positive Life Radio and to the stores
secure, warehouse and distribute donated food.
that hosted the drives, including Costco stores in Spokane
Many thanks
County, Walmart stores in Richland and Pasco, and Super 1
to KXLY, KVEW
Foods stores in Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene.
and Yoke’s Fresh
A big thank you to the youth and staff at the BentonMarkets for their
Franklin Juvenile Justice Center for donating produce
partnership in the
from their community garden again this year. Over 2,000
What’s for Lunch?
pounds of fresh lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and
Food Drive. The
other healthy produce were distributed to families in need
drive, held on July
through our partner food banks and meal programs.
17, was promoted
Thank you to the Benton-Franklin Fair and Rodeo for
by KXLY in Spokane
raising enough funds to provide 12,420 meals for families
and KVEW in the
in need. The Fair and Rodeo donated $2 for each adult
Tri-Cities and hosted
admission sold on opening day before 2 p.m. and another
by Yoke’s stores
Tri-Cities Food Frenzy Challenge winners —
$412 was raised during a people’s choice vote at a BBQ
Adaban Blitz
cook-off.
4
Mobile Food Bank fills gap for Spokane family
Second Harvest’s Mobile Food Bank
Stanna looks forward to the day when
was coming to the Northeast Community
she can go back to working full time and
Center in Hillyard.
contribute to the family income.
Stanna arrived at the distribution
Until then, the high cost of daycare
with her 4-year-old daughter, Briaunna,
and the challenges of raising a 7-year-old
and found kindhearted volunteers who
son with autism make it impossible for the
loaded up a box with fresh apples,
Spokane mom to earn a second income.
oranges, apple sauce, chicken, frozen
Stanna’s husband has a computer
french fries, whole grain crackers and
science degree, but has been unable
bread. Little Briaunna enjoyed munching
to land a good job in his profession. He
on a healthy apple as the two of them
currently earns about $10 an hour working
selected food items to take home.
at a local call center. The family receives
Stanna was able to pick up healthy food for her
Stanna is hopeful that her husband
food stamps, but feeding four growing
family at the Mobile Food Bank.
will land a better job as the economy
children, ages 4 to 15, is a constant
improves. In the meantime, Second Harvest’s donors and
struggle.
volunteers provided her with meals and snacks for the
“I’ve sold every single thing in my house three times over
children at a time of great need.
in the last eight years,” the 35-year-old mother said.
“We didn’t know what we were going to eat tonight. Thank
The family ran out of food and a panicked Stanna worried
you so much, Stanna said.
about how she would feed the kids. A friend mentioned that
Outstanding partner
agencies recognized
Second Harvest handed out its CIVIC Awards to some
outstanding area hunger-relief programs during its annual
Partner Agency Conference on Sept. 10.
C for Community Involvement: Bonner Community Food
Center of Sandpoint, Idaho, for its commitment to making the
community a better place to live.
I for Innovation: Tri-Cities Food Bank for its work in
pioneering exceptional and creative responses to hunger.
V for Volunteerism: The Salvation Army of Spokane for its
dedication to principles that promote a culture of giving back.
I for Ink: Dream Center of Spokane Valley for its effective
hunger-relief advocacy online and in print.
C for Commitment to Children: St. Vincent de Paul of
Clarkston for its work to promote health and well-being of
children in need.
From left are Alice Wallace of Bonner Community Food Center, FrancesAnne Hiemstra of Tri-Cities Food Bank, Cassandra Cram of The Salvation
Army, Rosie Peterson of Dream Center and Cliff Barnes of St. Vincent de
Paul (Clarkston).
Dedicated Volunteers
Make a Difference
With Veterans Day on the
horizon, we wanted to share a story
about Ken Bramer, a U.S. Army
veteran who was stationed in Korea
in the 1940s. Bramer has volunteered
once and twice a week for about nine
years at Second Harvest’s Spokane
distribution center.
Several months ago, Bramer
was among a group of veterans who
traveled to Washington, D.C. to tour
memorials commemorating people
Ken
who served and died in military
conflicts. The trip was provided courtesy of Honor Flight, a
nonprofit that transports veterans to visit and reflect at their
memorials.
“The World War II memorial was the one that impressed
me the most,” Bramer said.
Second Harvest is grateful for the many volunteers who
work so hard to help Second Harvest feed 55,000 hungry
children and adults a week. Here are some other highlights
of the past three months:
Tri-Cities—Volunteers donated a total of 853 hours of
time. Several incredible groups and individuals dedicated
their time and talent.
Spokane—Volunteers gave a total of 6,342 hours of
time helping at the distribution center. Top groups included:
1. Mixed Nuts – 2,226 hours
2. Audubon – 1,196 hours
3. Northwest Farm Credit Services – 302 hours
4. Idaho Missions Project – 288 hours
5. Numerica Credit Union – 195 hours
5
b
Events and Volunteering
Winter Food Drive
Winter ushers in additional challenges for low-income people.
Increased utility bills and other costs can leave families and seniors
short of money for groceries. You can help by organizing a food
and fund drive. Learn more at 2-harvest.org/winterfooddrive. For
more information, contact 252-6257 or [email protected] in
Spokane or 545-0787 or [email protected] in the Tri-Cities.
Nov. 14
Scouting for Food – Spokane
The hardworking Boy Scouts are holding their annual drive.
Participate by filling a bag with shelf-stable food and placing it on the
porch Saturday morning.
Nov. 20 and 21 – Spokane
Tom’s Turkey Drive
The 16th annual turkey drive, held at area Rosauers stores and
promoted by KREM 2 and its chief meteorologist Tom Sherry, raises
Thanksgiving dinners for families in need. To donate, visit Rosauers
stores to purchase a $20 bag of all the fixings for a holiday meal or
make a cash donation. Gifts can also be made online at
2-harvest.org/turkeydrive.
Nov. 24 – Spokane
Tom’s Turkey Tuesday
Volunteers age 18 and older will help with the holiday meal
distribution at the Spokane Arena. Find available shifts and sign up
online at 2-harvest.org/volunteer (click on “Spokane” and go to Nov.
24 on the calendar).
Nov. 26 – Spokane
Turkey Trot
The Bloomsday Road Runners Club’s annual Thanksgiving morning
fun run starts with registration at 8 a.m. near the Manito Park duck
pond. The race starts at 9 a.m. There’s no entry fee, but food and
cash donations are collected for Second Harvest.
Board of Directors
Chairperson
Kevin Rasler, Inland Empire Paper Company
Vice Chairperson
Carla Altepeter, Numerica Credit Union
Audit and Finance Committee Chairperson
Mark Bray, Lydig Construction
President and CEO
Jason Clark, Second Harvest
Secretary/Treasurer
Jennifer Milnes, Second Harvest
Paul Bridge, BDO
Paul Davis, Lukins & Annis, P.S.
Mike Dunford, Insurance Agent
Michael Gadd, Clearwater Paper Corporation
Pastor Craig Goodwin, Millwood Community
Presbyterian Church
Alex Jackson, Providence Sacred Heart and Holy Family
Colleen McMahon, Gonzaga University
Bruce Nelson, Agricultural Producer
Carl Sohn, Northwest Farm Credit Services
Ray Sprinkle, URM Stores, Inc.
Kimberly Thielman, Asuris Northwest Health
Nov. 30 – Dec. 11 – Spokane and Tri-Cities
Season of Giving Food Drive
Yoke’s Fresh Markets, KXLY and KVEW will hold their annual
Season of Giving Food Drive. Also sponsoring the Tri-Cities drive is
Numerica Credit Union. Donors can purchase pre-bagged food for $5
and $10 at Yoke’s stores from Nov. 30 through Dec. 11. Volunteers
will collect donations at the stores on Dec. 11 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Dec. 4, 5, 11 and 12 – Kennewick
Senske Services Holiday Light Show
The event, which raises food and funds to feed people in need in the
Mid-Columbia, is held along West Deschutes Avenue and in front
of the Senske Services headquarters on North Quay Street. Santa
and his elves will be there to collect donations, serve hot cocoa and
pass out candy canes. Photos with Santa will be available for every
donation received.
Dec. 4, 5 and 6 – Spokane
Journey to Bethlehem
See the annual “Journey to Bethlehem” reenactment at the South Hill
Seventh Day Adventist Church, 5607 S. Freya, and donate food and
funds for people in need.
Learn more about these and other volunteer opportunities at
2-harvest.org or contact Jill Wilson in Spokane (252-6257 or
[email protected]), or Lamar Cloy in the Tri-Cities
(545-0787 or [email protected]).
Donate your unneeded or unused car, truck, SUV, motor
home or motorcycle to Cars for Charity and designate
Second Harvest as your charity of choice.
You’ll not only receive a tax deduction, but also help
feed hungry families. Every dollar generated from your
donation provides five meals for our neighbors in need.
To arrange towing, call 928-1900 or for more
information, visit cars4charity.com.
1234 E. Front Ave.
Spokane, WA 99202
Our Mission
FIGHTING HUNGER, FEEDING HOPE:
Second Harvest brings community
resources together to feed people in need
through empowerment, education and
partnerships.
Published quarterly by Second Harvest.
Volume 23, Edition 4. To remove your name
from our mailing list, please call
(509) 252-6261 or (509) 545-0787.
Partner Agency
Get Involved
Volunteer at the Spokane or Tri-Cities distribution
centers, or at a food drive or other event.
Give a gift. Every $1 provides five meals for hungry
people.
Organize a food drive to feed our neighbors in need.
Tour our Spokane or Tri-Cities distribution centers.
Please call to schedule a time.
Share this newsletter with a friend or colleague. Help
the community learn more about how Second Harvest
fights hunger and feeds hope.
Second Harvest’s free food helps neighborhood food
banks and meal programs feed more people.
You can be part of the solution to hunger.
Spokane
(509) 534-6678
Tri-Cities
(509) 545-0787
2-harvest.org