ANNUAL NEWSLET TER 2013
Committed to providing nutritious food at no cost to low-income residents of the City of Alameda
FAREWELL TO
HANK LEEPER
After two years as executive director of
the Alameda Food Bank, Hank Leeper
is embarking on a new adventure in
Colorado with his wife, Nan. We are
grateful for Hank’s steady leadership,
dedication, and commitment to our community and the Alameda Food Bank.
GROW SOME, KEEP SOME,
AND GIVE SOME AWAY
Alameda Backyard Growers is one of the many community
partners that helps the Alameda Food Bank ensure that no one
in our island city goes hungry. This innovative group is the
brainchild of founders Amanda Bruemmer and Janice Edwards,
who created the Alameda Backyard Growers in 2010.
Amanda and Janice met at a
networking event in San Francisco
where they discovered that they both
lived in Alameda and shared a desire
to give back to our community. Their
idea focused on Alamedans growing
fruits and vegetables in their yards, on their patios, or on their
balconies, who after feeding their families and friends, could
give what was left over to their neighbors in need.
This group supports AFB through two programs—Project Pick
and Grow A Row. Through Project Pick, fruit from established
trees across Alameda is harvested and donated to AFB for
distribution. You can coordinate with Alameda Backyard Growers
to receive assistance with delivery of your picked fruit or even
have someone from the group harvest your fruit for you and
deliver it to the Food Bank. Through Grow a Row, members
contribute by planting an extra row of produce in their gardens
continued on P3
Over Hank’s tenure, he has applied his
operations and logistics know-how to
streamlining operations at AFB. While
Hank leaves some rather big shoes to fill,
he leaves us well positioned for the
upcoming transition. We wish Hank the
best in his next leg of the journey!
IN THIS ISSUE
Volunteer of the Year ................. 2
AFB in 4th of July Parade ........... 2
New Donation Information ......... 3
How You Can Help ................... 4
VOLUNTEER
OF THE YEAR:
JEROME
SZYMCAK
Congratulations to Jerome Szymcak,
AFB’s 2013 Volunteer of the Year.
Jerome was recognized for his
outstanding volunteer service at this
year’s Volunteer Appreciation Event
by board president, Anna Crane.
AFB VANS ARE
SUPERHEROES
You may have noticed one of our two vans out and about in the
community and wondered if we were now in the food delivery
business…not so. Rest assured, our vans are working hard to serve
Alameda’s hungry. Every year these vans cover a lot of ground,
traveling many miles and carrying countless pounds of food.
A key member of the Fundraising
Committee, Jerome conducted an
in-depth, private foundation grant search
when our grants initiative was in its infancy. He wrote the grant proposals that
began our successful relationships with
the Bernard Osher and Evelyn and Walter Haas Foundation, and he contines to
nurture those relationships to this day.
Jerome is one of our four designated
shoppers at the Alameda County
Community Food Bank. He’s dropped-off
and picked-up donation barrels, pickedup donated groceries at Safeway, Trader
Joe’s, the Alameda Natural Grocery, the
Alameda Farmers’ Market and the Jack
London Farmers’ Market. He is our
ambassador around town, explaining our
cause to all who will listen and garnering
their support in the process.
Our thanks go out to Jerome and all of
our volunteers, whose hard work makes
a real difference in our community.
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Our vans keep us fast and nimble, allowing us to pick up
scheduled and spur-of-the-moment donations from local grocery
stores, as well as making trips to the greater Alameda County food
bank. These hard-working vans deliver food to distribution sites,
as well as shuttle collection barrels to and from the many Alameda
businesses and organizations which serve as food collection sites.
Please visit our website for a complete listing of sites:
WWW.ALAMEDAFOODBANK.ORG/CONTRIBUTION.HTML
LIKE US ON
FACEBOOK
Alameda Food Bank is on Facebook.
We are committed to keeping you in the loop with AFB news
and happenings and Facebook is one more way we can stay
connected. Like our page on Facebook and you’ll get regular Food
Bank updates. You can also help us by building our community of
supporters. AFB has just over a few hundred “fans” to date and
we’d like to reach 500 likes by the end of the year. If you’re on
Facebook, please like our page and then spread the word to your
Alameda friends, family, and neighbors. You can find us at:
FACEBOOK.COM/ALAMEDAFOODBANK
MAKING EVERY
DOLLAR COUNT
ANNUAL
NEWSLETTER
Samantha Kahn —Editor
Amy Raffle—Writer
Steve Sokil—Writer, Editor
Jen Barnette Nelson—Graphic Designer
The Alameda Food Bank is a
registered 501C3 non-profit organization.
All donations are tax deductible.
WWW.ALAMEDAFOODBANK.ORG
It’s obvious that food donations are important to a food bank,
but did you ever wonder why AFB needs cash donations or
what we do with them? AFB uses your cash donation to make
sure we can fight hunger throughout the year by purchasing
food during times when food donations are lower than
anticipated. We are also able to round out our pantry by
purchasing fresh chicken, ground beef/turkey and other items
for our Enhanced Protein Distribution Program. Finally, we are
able to take advantage of purchasing staple items in bulk at
prices only available to food banks, much cheaper than prices
for the general public. Our purchasing power means your cash
donation stretches that much further.
Donating online is increasingly popular among our donors and
in addition to being incredibly convenient and secure, it helps
keep our administrative costs down. Due to the automation of
processing online donations, very little staff time is required.
Of course, all contributions, in whatever form they come—food,
volunteering, in-kind services, and even money—are a critical
part of our success. We couldn’t do it without you.
Thank you for 35 years of support! You are the main ingredient
in fulfilling our mission of providing nutritious food to low
income residents. We will continue our work to end hunger in
our Alameda with your help.
NEW ADDITIONS
SOME AWAY
TO AFB BOARD GIVE
continued from P1
to donate to AFB. Considering “growing a row” for the Food
Bank? Contact Alameda Backyard Growers, as members even
share seeds and seedlings for the Grow a Row program.
Brooks Wong
Troy Gilbert
Welcome to new board members,
Brooks Wong and Troy Gilbert, pictured
here with Marissa McDonald. In addition
to their duties on the board of directors,
both Brooks and Troy make time in their
busy schedules to volunteer with food
distribution at AFB.
Alameda Backyard Growers has become an important source
of fresh fruit and vegetables for the Food Bank. This group
of growing enthusiasts donates more than 2,500 pounds of
produce annually. The abundance of fresh produce is not only
locally grown in backyards across Alameda, but also represents
a reduction of wasted, unharvested food in our community.
Thanks to everyone at Alameda Backyard Growers! In
addition to supporting AFB, Alameda Backyard Growers
provides important community education and networking
for Alameda gardeners.
To learn more about this innovative group, please visit:
WWW.ALAMEDABACKYARDGROWERS.ORG,
EMAIL: [email protected],
OR PHONE: 510-239-7425.
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HOW YOU CAN HELP
NOVEMBER 16
26TH ANNUAL SCOUTING FOR FOOD DRIVE
Alameda Boy Scouts will be collecting non-perishable
items for the Alameda Food Bank on Saturday,
November 16. You can participate by leaving a bag
of non-perishable items on your doorstep or at the
curb that Saturday morning. Donations may also be
dropped off that day at our pantry located at
1900 Thau Way.
SCOUTING FOR FOOD DONATION HOURS:
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16 9:30 AM—1:30 PM
MID-OCTOBER—DECEMBER
WE’RE IN NEED OF HOLIDAY TURKEYS
Please help AFB in our quest to collect 1,000 frozen
turkeys from mid-October through December. Keep
an eye out for those turkey specials in your local
grocery store! Donated turkeys may be dropped off
at our pantry located at 1900 Thau Way.
MANY THANKS TO THE VOLUNTEERS THAT
REPRESENTED THE ALAMEDA FOOD BANK IN
THE 2013 ALAMEDA FOURTH OF JULY PARADE
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR MISSION
TO PROVIDE LOW-INCOME RESIDENTS OF
TURKEY DONATION HOURS:
ALAMEDA WITH NUTRITIONALLY BALANCED
MONDAY, WEDNESDAY & FRIDAY 9:30 AM—4:00 PM
GROCERIES, AT NO COST TO THE RECIPIENTS
TUESDAY 11:00 AM—6:30 PM, THURSDAY NOON—3 PM
NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PA I D
ALAMEDA, CA
PERMIT NO. 46
Post Office Box 2167
Alameda, CA 94501