HungerHunger To Beat Hunger

Fall 2008 BeatBeatThe

Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club Join Retail Program Page 5

2008 Heart of Carolina 2 Million Pound Goal Page 8

Volunteers of the Year Page 12

A Newsletter of the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina 2 The Hunger Beat: A Newsletter of the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina

Table of Contents On the Burner: New Program for Seniors ...... 4 In the Bag: Walmart Retail Program Launches ...... 5 Dishing it Out: Community Food Drives...... 6 Heart of Carolina Food Drive ...... 8 Faces of the Food Bank: Sweet Potato Pie ...... 10 In Your Neighborhood: Helping Hurricane Victims ...... 11 Volunteer Spotlight: Annie Edwards and Martie Bauer ...... 12 Milestones ...... 13 Website Spotlight/How You Can Help Fight Hunger ...... 14 Staff List ...... 15

A member of

2008–2009Board of Directors Our Branches CHAIR Visit us online at Alvin G. Ragland, Community Volunteer

www.foodbankcenc.org CHAIR ELECT Food Bank of Central Ed Carney, Cisco Systems, Inc. & Eastern North Carolina SECRETARY Main Office Hershell McCarty, Progress Energy Carolinas

3808 Tarheel Drive TREASURER Raleigh, NC 27609 Jim Knight, NC Education Lottery 919.875.0707 PAST CHAIR Food Bank of Central & Eastern Walter R. Rogers, Jr., Smith, Anderson, Blount, Dorsett, Mitchell & Jernigan, L.L.P. North Carolina at Durham 708 Gilbert Street Mary Esther Baker, Community Volunteer Durham, NC 27701 Dana Barco, Fidelity Investments 919.956.2513 John Chapin, Community Volunteer Marilyn Forbes, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice Food Bank of Central & Eastern Amy Gamber (ex-officio), WTVD ABC 11 North Carolina at Greenville Glenn Gaylord, Food Lion 497 West 9th Street Liz Goodmon, Be Active North Carolina Greenville, NC 27834 Felicia Gressette, The News & Observer Esther Hall, NC Legal Education Assistance Foundation 252.752.4996 Keith Hayes, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Food Bank of Central & Eastern Carey Hill, MA, Carey Hill Consulting, Inc. Debbie J. Johnson, Genworth Mortgage Insurance North Carolina at Sandhills Steve Jones, RBC Centura Bank 195 Sandy Avenue Dana Lange, Community Volunteer Southern Pines, NC 28387 Nancy Schwarm Livesay, Community Volunteer 910.692.5959 Heather Mallard, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC Matthew G. T. Martin , Esq., Smith, Anderson, Blount, Dorsett, Food Bank of Central & Eastern Mitchell & Jernigan, L.L.P. North Carolina at Wilmington Craig McKenzie, Harris Teeter 1314 Marstellar Street Morgan Moylan, Sports Endeavors Wilmington, NC 28401 Ashmead Pipkin, Attorney 910.251.1465 Kim Rosenberg, Attorneys Title Bob Sar, Ogletree, Deakings, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, PC Harrison J. Kaplan, Esq., Legislative Counsel The Hunger Beat Published by The Food Bank of Central & FBCENC Partners Media Partners Eastern North Carolina Designed by Archetype Articles contributed by Staff Written by Christy Simmons Edited by Christy Simmons and Archetype Project Coordinator: Vernetta Eastman Questions? Call 919.875.0707

www.foodbankcenc.org The Hunger Beat: A Newsletter of the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina 3

From the Desk of the President & CEO

Dear Friends,

Thank you all sincerely for your support during the last fiscal year. Once again due to your compassion and commitment to the cause of feeding the hungry, we were able to accomplish a number of our goals, including: n Your e-mails, calls, and letters to our representatives in Washington, D.C. prompted them to pass the Nutrition Title in the Farm Bill. As a result, we are already seeing significant increases in the number of commodities we receive through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). n We collected over 1 million pounds of food—our largest amount to date—during our 2007 Heart of Carolina Food Drive. n During our inaugural 2008 Kids Summer Stock campaign, we focused on the 250,000 schoolchil- dren eligible for the free and reduced lunch program that they don’t have access to when school ends. The campaign was a huge success. The combined food and funds raised during the month of June provided over 1.2 million meals to those children and families in our region who suffer from hunger. n Our Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Kids Cafe Program continues to grow. We added four new sites, are now in 26 of our 34 counties, and served more than 91,000 meals during last fiscal year. n Through the Bayer CropScience BackPack Program, we nearly doubled the number of backpacks distributed (from 11,800 in 2006–2007 to almost 21,000 in 2007–2008).

We are indebted to you for initiating a record number of food and fund drives. Your financial donations were critical in supporting various aspects of our operational expenses, such as fuel. In addition to picking up food throughout our region, our fleet of 22 trucks travels over 1,500 miles a day delivering vital supplies to our partner agencies; our fuel costs to hover around $6,000 per week.

In this issue, you will hear exciting news about the addition of two new retailer partnerships. We plan to add 62 retail recovery stores, with an ambitious goal of securing 2.5 million new pounds of food annually. Also, thanks to funding from Cisco Systems, we are embarking on a Food and Nutrition Senior Services Outreach Program to help a greater number of seniors obtain easier access to food.

These new programs and the growth of existing programs take on even greater importance as the number of people at risk of hunger in our 34-county service area increases. According to the 2006 US Census Bureau Estimates, the number of individuals at risk has increased by 50,000— to nearly 450,000—since the year 2000. Unfortunately, it is clear that these numbers will only rise as more current data is collected.

We are extremely hopeful that we can continue to rely on your kind assistance in the form of food, donations, and time. They enable us to reach out to those who are in such need, and once again prove that our collective efforts can produce so much hope for so many.

With deep gratitude,

Peter Werbicki, President & CEO

Our Food Bank has received a Charity Navigator 4-Star Rating for 7 consecutive years.

Fall 2008 4 The Hunger Beat: A Newsletter of the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina

ON THE BURNER: NEW FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICES OUTREACH PROGRAM TO FOCUS ON SENIORS

Retirement is not necessarily golden for our seniors. Millions cannot always afford an adequate diet. The Food and Nutrition Services Program (formerly the Food Stamp Program) is one of the ways to respond to this complex issue. The 2008 Farm Bill (The Food, Conservation, and Act Now! Energy Act of 2008) provides for many improvements to 2008 Stewards Fund this program.

Challenges New One of the changes is the increase in the minimum Donors: benefit from $10 to $14. Another change is a new name. The federal program is now called Supplemental Nutri- Give Today and tion Assistance Program. North Carolina has adopted the Double Your Gift! name of Food and Nutrition Services as its name for the State program. The Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina has been awarded a On Friday, September 12, the Food Bank of Central & generous $150,000 challenge grant Eastern North Carolina launched the new Senior Food from the Stewards Fund. From now and Nutrition Services Outreach Project by hosting an until January 31, 2009, the Stew- all-day training session. The session was attended by ards Fund will match any gift from a participating agencies, as well as Valerie Wilson from the new donor dollar-for-dollar—up to Division of Social Services and Lisa Johnston from our $150,000! sister food bank MANNA. Located in Asheville, MANNA already has the outreach project in place, and Lisa was How can you help? happy to answer questions about their operations. If you have never supported the Food Bank before, make your Funded by Cisco, this project allows us to contribution today to double your gift. team up with local Departments of Social Your donation will help fund nutritious Services and select partner agencies to extend the Food meals for the over 450,000 people in Stamp Program to our senior population. our 34-county service territory who suffer from hunger. The following partner agencies have been Already a donor? selected from Pitt, Moore, and New Hanover If you’ve already donated to the Food counties to participate in the pilot program: Bank or are a regular supporter, urge n Philippi Church of Christ, Greenville your friends and family to make a contribution. Go to www.foodbank- n The Anointed Ones Church, Ayden cenc.org and click the Steward’s Fund link, or mail your check to: n Page United Methodist Church, Aberdeen

Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC n Sandhills-Moore Coalition for Human Care, Inc., Attn: Stewards Fund Challenge Southern Pines 3808 Tarheel Drive Raleigh, NC 27609 n Tileston Outreach, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Wilmington Checks can be made payable to FBCENC. n Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard, Wilmington

Thank You! The Food Bank is a true advocate for those we serve.

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Top 2007–2008 In the Bag: Grantors Walmart, Sam's Club, Kroger join Retail Recovery Program 2007 Stewards Fund (Ch a l l e n g e Gr a n t ) $100,000 1,762 new donors contributed a total HOW did this partnership happen? of $123,318 between January 1 and Feeding America, formerly America’s Second Harvest— April 30, 2008! The Nation’s Food Bank Network, initiated this partner- ship as part of the National Store Donation Program. This Bayer Foundation program facilitates the process of supermarket retailers $50,000 donating perishable food to local food banks. It has BackPack Program massive potential to expand the quantity of fresh food available to Americans at risk of hunger, because it allows Kraft food banks to rescue highly nutritious, perishable foods $45,000 like dairy products, deli items, and meat. The Store Dona- Funded the construction and tion Program greatly expands the Food Bank of Central & installation of the Durham Branch Eastern North Carolina’s current Retail Recovery Program. Freezer (See story on page 13). WHO are the new additions to this program on Food Lion Charitable Foundation the local level? $35,000 (2 grants: $25,000 and $10,000) Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, and Kroger stores will all partner Rural Food Delivery Program in with the Food Bank. Thanks to Food Lion, the Food Bank Greenville currently picks up at 200 stores. All stores will donate Wake County protein (dairy and meat) to help the Food Bank address the growing need. $35,000 Supports the food distribution to almost WHAT are the benefits? 70,000 people living at or below the Locally, the Food Bank will add 64 stores or 120 stops federal poverty level in Wake County to the routes of its fleets. To support the new initiative, and provides support to 175 of our Wal-Mart provided an $85,000 truck to facilitate the nonprofit partner agencies. store program pickups. The Lincy Foundation provided a Cape Fear Memorial Foundation $65,000 grant to fund a route driver, equipment, and $35,000 (year 2 of 3-year grant) materials (such as load bars, a pallet jack, and six Strengthens the infrastructure of portable scales) to support to program. the Wilmington branch and secures long-term viability. HOW will the program work? In addition to 200 retail stores that are already a part of Idol Gives Back Foundation this program nationwide, locally we will eventually pick $29,747 up product from 65 Food Lion stores, 39 Walmart stores, Combats child hunger by expand- 6 Sam’s Clubs, and 19 Kroger stores. These retail stores ing the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of will provide traditional sources of protein such as meat, North Carolina Kids Cafe after-school deli, and dairy, as well as bakery items, produce, and dry program. goods. These stores are dedicating freezer space to store frozen products, therefore allowing the Food Bank to Sunshine Lady Foundation conserve fuel by making fewer pickups. $25,000 Expands a highly successful BackPack WHEN will it start? Program serving low-income elemen- Phases of the program have already started in some tary school students in New Hanover, areas. Sam’s started in September, Kroger stores were Brunswick, and Pender Counties added in November, and Wal-Mart will come on board (Wilmington area). early in 2009. Cole Foundation $25,000 Maintains the Feeding Families Better program in Richmond Co. that targets almost 8,500 people living in poverty. (Continued on page13)

Fall 2008 6 The Hunger Beat: A Newsletter of the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina

Dishing it out: Community Food Drives KIDS Cold Weather, Warm Hearts at Food Lion Summer Stock Hunger Relief Day Results The 2008 theme of the N.C. State Fair was “Take Time for a Great Time.” Food and Kids Summer Stock (KSS) was in your fun were present from beginning to end. neighborhood in June! These unique, On Thursday, October 23, during Food Lion fun events were held at each branch Hunger Relief Day, fairgoers also took the time to help when food drive donations tend to families who may not have food during the economic slow down across the country. At the downturn. Fairgoers donated more than 166,000 pounds same time, there is an increase in the of food—the equivalent of 140,000 meals. Last year number of people needing food. fair attendees donated 174,000 pounds of food, the equivalent of about 147,000 meals. By bringing four cans The Durham Branch Open House of food, attendees received free admission. Visitors enjoyed drinks, and music by Evan Wade and His Kakalakalayuans. Hunger Relief Day at the Fair is one of the largest Food was provided by these Brightleaf one-day drives of canned food in the state. The Food Square Restaurants: Amelias, El Rodeo, Bank had close to 450 volunteers and staff members on Piazza Italia, and Nikos Taverna. Tours site to collect the canned goods. We will distribute the food to families in need in our 34-county service area, as of the branch were given. well as sister food banks across the state. A special thanks to our Durham sponsors: Harris Wholesale, The Herald 2008 Raleigh CropWalk Sun, Lowes Foods, ABC 11 Thanks to all who supported the 2008 Raleigh CROP Walk on Sunday, October 12! More than $17,000 was collected—$2,000 more than last year. All activities began and ended at Marbles Kids Museum on Hargett Street. This year’s walk was approximately 4 miles (6.4 kilometers).

Seventy-five percent of WALK proceeds support international and national relief, while the remaining 25% stays in the local community to support the important work of five agencies here in Raleigh. The Food Bank was one of the 2008 beneficiaries.

Sunday in the Park Pops Concert In collaboration with the Sunday in the Park Concert Series at Greenville September was National Town Common, the Food Bank hosted Hunger Action Month a fundraising event on June 22. The In September, the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Greenville Summer Pops Orchestra Carolina joined Feeding America and the more than 200 performed. Several lucky folks won food banks across the nation in the inaugural, nationwide door prizes. About 300 pounds was Hunger Action Month. It was a call to all Americans to get involved locally to bring an end to hunger. donated at this event; $425 was collected. Overton’s Food Drive brought another 250 pounds. How did you make a difference during hunger action month? A special thanks to the Greenville We educated our friends and collected cans and sponsors: Aldridge & Southerland donations at the following events: Realtors, Kessler Law Firm, Nacco, Physicians East, P.A., Overton’s, September 5 Greenville Parks & Rec First Friday Celebration in Southern Pines

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Hunger Action Month Events (Continued) September 5 and 6 Gala Grand Opening Celebration of the Raleigh KIDS Convention Center Summer Stock September 13 (Continued) Celebrate Cary at Sunset at the Koka Booth Results Amphitheatre Summerfest September 29 The Food Bank hosted a Kids Open House at the Greenville Branch Summer Stock event at the Koka Booth Special thanks to Honorable John B. Lewis for hosting this Amphitheatre’s Summerfest series on event. June 21. The North Carolina Symphony presented “Forbidden Broadway.” September 1–30 Schaeffer BMW Food Drive in Wilmington. Attendees also enjoyed dinner, drinks, and dessert in a tent by the lake.

A special thanks to our Raleigh-area sponsors: Town of Cary, IBM, L & M Family of Companies, Harris Wholesale, Here are other partners who have Lowes Foods, ABC 11 supported us over the past few months:

First Friday in Southern Pines Fidelity Food Drive Our friends at Fidelity Investments held a summer Families from the Sandhills region food drive and collected more than 3,000 pounds, the gathered in downtown Southern Pines equivalent of 2,607 meals! for First Friday on June 6. Live music, refreshments, and kids activities were featured as well as a Food Bank table and food drive. Fun was had by all! The Food Bank of Central & Eastern North WCHL Cash and Cause Carolina at Sandhills benefited from the summer-long First Fridays series. CAsh: WCHL’s Cash and a Cause promotion asked Food and funds were collected until WCHL listeners to “wave our flag” by placing a WCHL October, and one lucky donor walked window sticker on their vehicle. The station held live away with a piece of pottery by broadcasts from University Mall, The Siena Hotel, Pam renowned potter Ben Owens. Nearly Herndon State Farm Insurance, and Carrboro Plaza Vet 800 meals were provided with Clinic, where in exchange for placing the sticker on their donations from this series. vehicles, listeners had a chance to draw from a box of envelopes that contained $1, $10, $100, or $1,000. An Evening at Thalian Hall The Food Bank hosted a wine tasting CAUSE: Nonperishable food items were collected at and hors d’ouevres at the Thalian each event to benefit the Food Bank of Central & East- ern North Carolina at Durham. The food and funds col- Hall Center for the Performing Arts. lected were the equivalent of more than 2,000 meals! Attendees were invited to sample select wines and enjoy music by Jimmy Gatlin. We thank all of our guests for joining us for this lovely evening! Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina A special thanks to our Wilmington BCBSNC held its annual food drive in June. Employees sponsors: Thalian Hall Center for the collected nearly 2,000 pounds of food and more than Performing Arts, Inc., Next Media, $4,000 dollars. Food and funds combined provided over Lowes Foods 19,000 meals for those at risk of hunger.

Fall 2008 8 The Hunger Beat: A Newsletter of the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina

2008 Heart of Carolina Food Drive

On November 21, 2008, ABC 11 will kick off the 22nd Annual Heart of Carolina Food Drive to benefit the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina and the Second Harvest Food Bank of Southeast North Caro- lina in Fayetteville. With a goal of raising 2 million pounds of food this year, the drive is a region-wide event that spans the station’s 22-county broadcast area. Corporate partners are Kroger, Embarq, Genworth Financial, Cisco, Credit Suisse, RBC Bank, and BASF.

Initiated by ABC 11 Eyewitness News in the late 1980s, the Heart of Carolina Food Drive has continued to gain momentum with the support and assistance of community groups. Companies, colleges, schools, churches, and civic organizations hold food drives and donate funds throughout the 22-county viewing area. Last year’s event raised more than 767,000 pounds of food and additional funds that helped to feed the more than 450,000 people at risk of hunger in the counties the Food Bank serves.

The campaign begins on Friday, November 21 and culminates with a “drive-thru” day on Wednesday, December 10. Food donations will be accepted at all Kroger stores; the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina locations in Raleigh, Durham, Greenville, and Southern Pines; the Food Bank in Fayetteville; and TradeWilco locations in Pitt County.

On “drive-thru” day, ABC 11 viewers will be able to make canned food donations between 5:00 am and 8:00 pm at the following five locations: The Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina on Tarheel Drive in Raleigh, Kroger at Creedmoor and Strickland Roads in Raleigh, Kroger at Maynard and High House Roads in Cary, Kroger on Hillsborough Road in Durham, and Highland Shopping Center on Raeford Road in Fayetteville. Throughout the day, WTVD ABC 11 Eyewitness News will air live reports every half-hour from all five locations.

Newspapers in several communities are sharing their resources to support the food drive. The Herald- Sun in Durham, The News & Observer in Raleigh, the Daily Reflector in Greenville, The Pilot in Southern Pines, and The Fayetteville Observer will insert grocery bags in the weekend editions of their papers on November 21, 22, and 23, so that their readers can fill the bags with canned food goods for the Heart of Carolina Food Drive.

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About the 2008 sponsors

Kroger has been a longtime sponsor of the ABC 11 Heart of Carolina Food Drive. Kroger’s retail divisions work closely with more than 85 regional food banks affiliated with Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger relief organization. Last year, for the fifth time in seven years, Kroger was named “Retailer of the Year” by Feeding America food banks.

Embarq is a leader in the communications industry. Community involvement is a com- pany value, meaning that Embarq actively seeks ways to invest in the local communities they serve. One method they employ is the sponsorship of causes such as the Heart of Carolina Food Drive. Embarq is longtime sponsor of this annual event.

Genworth Financial is a third year sponsor of the Heart of Carolina Food Drive. This company helps millions of people around the world achieve their dreams—of homeown- ership, financial independence, a comfortable retirement, and protection for their loved ones. The same spirit that drives their business—helping people realize their dreams— is also at the core of their commitment to communities around the world. Through a combination of volunteerism, collaborations with community partners, and charitable contributions, they support efforts involving basic needs, seniors, and at-risk youth to enhance the quality of life in the communities where they maintain offices. Earlier this year, the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina was the recipient of a $50,000 donation from Genworth.

Cisco Systems is another longtime supporter of the Food Bank. Cisco hardware, software, and service offerings are used to create the communications solutions that make networks possible, providing easy access to information anywhere. No one knows this better than the Food Bank. In 2006, Cisco donated a new phone system that al- lows 4-digit dialing to any branch. A $92,000 grant from Cisco, part of the Community and Philanthropy Product Grant Program, allowed the Food Bank to transition from an outdated, obsolete PBX phone system to a new IPT phone system before the busy holiday season of 2006. In addition to being a daily hunger relief organization, the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina is one of the first responders in the event of a natural disaster—where every second counts. The updated phone system is crucial to getting consistent information to the public and to all branches in the least amount of time.

Credit Suisse has returned for a third year as a Heart of Carolina sponsor. A world-leading financial services firm, Credit Suisse has been a major part of the Food Bank’s volunteer program. In 2006, 115 Credit Suisse employees spent an entire day as volunteers at the Raleigh warehouse. This turnout of employees represents the largest group of volunteers to ever work in the Food Bank on a single day, other than as part of a disaster relief effort in response to a hurricane.

RBC Bank, formerly RBC Centura, returns as a Heart of Carolina sponsor. RBC Bank is headquartered in Raleigh and continues to grow in the Southeast.

BASF is a first-year sponsor of the Heart of Carolina Food Drive. BASF is known as the world’s leading chemical company. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges, such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition, and mobility.

Media Sponsors:

Fall 2008 10 The Hunger Beat: A Newsletter of the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina

Faces of the food bank: Sweet Potato Pie By Jeff Ogus, Food Bank Truck Driver

FRONT WALL MURAL TELLS FOOD BANK STORY By Dawn Privette

As a child I always loved to draw and paint but my father told me I had to be a responsible adult and get a real job. So I worked, raised my family, and was responsible. Two years ago I had the opportunity to leave the corporate world and pursue a career as a mural- I don’t usually make the agency deliveries. I run the long ist/faux painter. I relished the chance hauls between branches or make pickups from vendors. to fulfill my dream. I surprised myself But one Saturday we were short on drivers and they when I found I could paint things on called me in. It was hot, unloading took awhile, and I was such a large scale. impatient. I just wanted to get back on the road.

The Food Bank approached me this Then I noticed a little girl past year after I finished a mural in the near the crowd, jumping up warehouse for the Bayer CropScience and down, real excited about BackPack program. They asked me to something. She had pigtails, create something on the retainer wall and even though her clothes just outside of the warehouse. After were faded, she was dressed several discussions, I came up with a real nice like she was going canvas painting of what I thought the to church. I went over and mural should be. The mural depicts the asked her what she was so 34 counties serviced by the Food Bank excited about. “Sweet potatoes, by representing the skyline of Durham sweet potatoes!” she said, and Raleigh through the rural areas of grinning from ear to ear. “Sweet potatoes?” I chuckled, “What’s so exciting about sweet potatoes?” She looked the Sandhills and Greenville all the way at me with big eyes and said in a hushed voice, “Because to the coast of Wilmington. Each of tonight, mama is making sweet potato pie!” the rows in the agriculture area shows items that are supplied to the Food At that moment I got tunnel vision, like in the movies, and Bank to help the hungry. The center of all I could see was this little girl: not excited about toys the mural shows the Food Bank fighting or television but about the anticipation of having sweet hunger and the bags of food and potato pie at dinner. My head started to reel. When I lifted baskets of sweet potatoes and my eyes, I looked at the crowd of people waiting for the watermelons. The rows of browns food we were delivering—I really looked at them: and yellows surrounded by the skids mothers with worn faces, dads with tired eyes, seniors of apples and peaches represent the looking expectantly at the front of the line where the second harvest. I was proud to be part boxes were handed out, and kids squealing with joy at of this mural, and I am proud to have their contents. I was stunned and immediately felt guilty helped the Food Bank create smiles for for being so selfish. all who visit. That moment changed my whole perception about what Dawn Privette is a muralist/faux painter we do here at the Food Bank. I have a new appreciation living in the Raleigh area. More artist for my job and our work. I’ve been a driver with the Food information and creations can be found at Bank for five years, and I’m thankful every day that I can www.dawniesdesigns.com. do a little bit to help others.

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Out of the mouth of… No Vacation from Hunger

When first grade teacher Sheawanna Anderson plays the In Your “food pyramid game” with her Neighborhood: students at an elementary school in Farmville, North Carolina, she Food Bank of already knows that some of her CENC distributes students will not have correct to victims of answers. All of the students in her class are on the free lunch program. And with their meals at home often hurricanes consisting of Ramen noodles, they have no idea where to Gustav & Ike place that “food” on the food pyramid.

The face of hunger can be some- “Since I work with Special Education students, I have the one in a region struck by natural opportunity to do a bit more advocacy and get to know disasters. Food Banks are a critical the families a little more in depth,” said Anderson. link in the disaster response and “As a result, I see first hand that there are areas lacking in the home, and food—particularly nutritious food—is a recovery chain. A little known fact definite need.” about the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina is that we are Anderson notes that her students tend to be sleepy and a first responder to natural disasters, sickly, which she attributes at least in part to a lack of even as we continue our operation as proper nutrition. “When we have breakfast and lunch a daily food relief organization. We served at school, they don’t mess around. They are truly have participated in hurricane relief hungry,” says Anderson. “The sad part is that I know they for more than 12 years. are probably not getting much of any type of real meal [once] school has ended.” As part of the Feeding America network, we respond to national Anderson is glad that the Food Bank of Central & Eastern disasters as well as disasters North Carolina initiated a summer food drive this year affecting your local neighborhoods. called Kids Summer Stock to remind the community of the children on the free and reduced meal program. In September, we sent a tractor trailer Hugely successful, Kids Summer Stock will be an of baby food (nearly 34,000 pounds) annual program. to Louisiana to help those affected by Hurricane Gustav. Shortly thereafter, “A lot of people don’t work with children every day, so as the call for help for Hurricane Ike they don’t think about them eating…or not eating,” says Anderson. “I applaud the Food Bank of Central and victims went out, we sent a truck to Eastern North Carolina for encouraging the community to Texas with nearly 10,000 pounds of continue to give throughout the summer while keeping ready-to-eat food items such as Slim the nutritional needs of these children in mind.” Jims, Lance crackers, and rice cakes.

Not only do we serve in your local neighborhoods, we are also in neighborhoods on the national stage.

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Agency Spotlight VOLUNTEER From the Sandhills Branch: Richmond County Enrichment SPOTLIGHT: Corporation 2008 Volunteers of the Year

Under the strong leadership of Volunteers at The Food Bank donate more than 100,000 Gracie Ingram, Executive Director, work hours each year. Hundreds of individuals assist in the Richmond County Enrichment the warehouses, volunteer at food drives, participate in Corporation has one of the best Kids the Speakers Bureau, staff our Kids Cafe and BackPack Cafe programs in our service area. The programs, and serve as office assistants. Throughout agency runs an after-school program the year, the staff nominates someone who personifies that offers academic enrichment, “volunteer” each month. At the end of the fiscal year, mentoring, nutrition education, physi- votes are cast for these 12 people, and one shining star cal fitness, opportunities for parental is selected. This year, two stellar volunteers rose above involvement, and most importantly, a the rest. nutritious meal to 50 area children. In 2007, as part of the Food Bank’s Stan- Annie Edwards has been dard of Excellence Awards, the agency a valuable member of the won the Community-Based Award. Greenville Branch family for two and half years. “Miss Annie“ At the Enrichment Corporation, volunteers as a receptionist, children are involved in numerous does clerical tasks, and conducts activities that promote health. They tours. She was born and raised in learn to prepare nutritious meals and Greenville and raised five children how and why to exercise. The program there. She worked many years as a factory worker and receives strong support from local housekeeper and is now retired. Miss Annie has 8 grand- school principals, the faith-based children and 10 great-grandchildren. She attends Phillipi community, and members of the arts Christian Church. community. Annie’s kindness and sharp sense of humor make the Dinner and a snack are served daily to staff of the partner agencies eager to see her when each child. The agency has four paid they visit the Greenville Warehouse. Christal Andrews, staff and four volunteers who work Greenville Outreach Coordinator, says, “Her dedication to hard to uphold the core mission of our mission is immeasurable. She is a visionary, a mother, the organization. The core mission a friend, and a confidante.” is to habilitate youth with tools to develop mutual respect for themselves and others. Martie Bauer joined the Raleigh Branch family early this Richmond County Enrichment Cor- year and has made a huge impres- poration is located at 809 Armstead sion on the staff. She volunteers Steet in the town of Rockingham. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays Hours of operation are Monday and walks through the door with through Thursday from 2:30 p.m. a smile on her face that remains to 7:00 p.m. To request more during her entire shift. She was born in Germany and information or offer assistance, later worked for 17 years as an accountant for J-M Pipe please call 910.997.3316. Manufacturing Plant in Pueblo, Colorado. Martie has two daughters and five grandchildren. She attends Asbury Methodist Church in Raleigh.

“Martie is very energetic. She will do anything from office work to warehouse work. She doesn’t care if she gets dirty," says Billie Churchwell, Raleigh Receptionist/ Administrative Assistant.

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In the Bag Milestones: (Continued from page 5) In Durham County

PPD, Inc. Gives $2,500 September, which is recognized nationally as Hunger Action Month, PPD, Inc. has was a fitting time for the Durham partnered with Branch to reach the amazing milestone the Food Bank of Central & Eastern of distributing 30 million pounds of North Carolina at Wilmington to help food. When staff from the Abundant keep hungry children from falling Life Church of Orange County arrived at through the cracks. Thanks to PPD for the branch, they had no idea that they their recent contribution of $2,500 to would be part of history. Food Bank staff support the Backpack Program. person Tony Wortham loaded a box of Reeser’s Cold Salad onto the scale as part of the church’s PPD is a leading global contract re- distribution, and this item was the one that caused search organization (CRO) providing the branch to reach the 30 million pounds milestone. discovery, development, and post- Balloons were dropped while church staff received a approval services, as well as com- certificate and a trophy to immortalize their place in Food pound partnering programs. Clients Bank history. and partners include pharmaceuti- cal, biotechnology, medical device, In operation since 1999, the warehouse of the academic, and government organiza- Durham Branch is located at 708 Gilbert Street. tions. The company has offices in 33 Staff at the branch distributes food to more than countries and employees more than 160 community-based hunger relief organizations such 10,500 professionals worldwide. as rescue missions, soup kitchens, food pantries, after school programs, and elderly nutrition programs in the The corporate headquarters for PPD, counties of Chatham, Durham, Granville, Orange, Person, Inc. are located on North Front Street and Vance. in Wilmington. The 18,500-square-foot Durham warehouse also Thank you for your celebrated the completion of a new freezer, which was kind support! made possible by a $45,000 grant from Kraft Foods. The new 320-square-foot walk-in freezer triples the existing MORE FOOD FOR freezer space and will allow the branch to provide a larger variety of nutritional products. MOORE’S CHILDREN The Moore County Community Foundation provided a $10,000 Celebrating EMPLOYEE grant to support the ongoing effort AND VOLUNTEER MILESTONES to ensure that over 3,500 Moore 20 years—Pat Brown, Raleigh County children at risk of hunger do not miss meals. The Food Bank 15 years—Larry Morris, Raleigh serves an estimated 1,500 children in Moore County through three 10 years—Frances Ferrell, Raleigh after-school programs, two day care 5 years—Dennis Connor, Wilmington; Larry Motteler, centers, and one Kid’s Cafe and an- Greenville; Anthony Reyeros, Durham; Pete Sloane, Dur- other 2,000 children of low-income ham; Tommy Taylor, Wilmington; Tom Whitaker, Sandhills families through 26 food pantries. During last fiscal year, Moore County Employee of the Year, 2008 children obtained over 208,000 Larry Morris, Raleigh meals through Food Bank partner Volunteers of the Year, 2008 agency food pantries and the Kids Annie Edwards, Greenville; Martie Bauer, Raleigh Cafe program. (See story on page 12.)

Fall 2008 14 The Hunger Beat: A Newsletter of the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina

First Food Bank Website Fuel Drive In order to cover rising food costs, Spotlight: the Food Bank held our first Food Branch Home Pages Bank Fuel Drive. By the end of the By Jen Newmeyer 2007–2008 fiscal year, fuel costs had increased by 61% over the previ- Curious about the activity of the Food Bank’s branch ous fiscal year. Our service territory locations? Now you can learn more about what is is roughly 19,000 square miles, and happening at the Durham, Greenville, Sandhills, and our partner agencies rely on Food Wilmington branches by viewing their Food Bank home Bank deliveries to provide grocer- pages. Each branch home page features a slideshow, in- ies and meals to the community. teresting facts, news, and info about events! Click on the Although a lot of agencies come to drop-down menu under “Home” at www.foodbankcenc. the warehouse to shop, we still deliver org or type in these links in your internet browser: 35–40% of the food (about 12 million pounds a year) directly. More than Durham.foodbankcenc.org $1,500 has “rolled” in so far, and it is Greenville.foodbankcenc.org not too late for you to donate! Sandhills.foodbankcenc.org Wilmington.foodbankcenc.org

HOW YOU CAN HELP DONATE MONEY $1 equals $8 worth of food or 4 meals • Individual Giving • Event Sponsorships

DONATE FOOD One meal equals a little over one pound of food (19 ounces) • Individual Food Drives • Company Food Drives • Virtual Food Drives • School Food Drives

• Community Food Drives

DONATE TIME—volunteer! Volunteer hours equaled the equivalent of 58 full-time employees last year. Volunteer roles: Warehouse • Office Assistant • Speakers Bureau & Agency Fairs • Special Events • Kids Day • Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Kids Café

www.foodbankcenc.org The Hunger Beat: A Newsletter of the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina 15

Our Staff Visit us online at www.foodbankcenc.org

Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina at Raleigh (Main Office) Peter Werbicki, President & CEO

Sandy Bishop, Director of Finance Phil Hiser, Retail Recovery Driver Brad Blackwell, Outreach Coordinator Percy L. Hockaday, Shipping/Receiving Assistant Martin Brewington, Jr., Warehouse Lead Lori Jones, Agency Shopping Coord. Anthony Brooks, Shopping Line Coordinator Michael Knight, Perishable Asst. June Brotherton, Research Coordinator Thomas Ley, Warehouse Freezer/Cooler Person Caprice Brown, Outreach, Eval., & Prog. Mgr. Earline E. Middleton, Vice President of Programs Pat Brown, Financial Assistant Glenn Moody, Driver Craig W. Campbell, Sp’l. Prog./Utility Whse. Assist. Jeremy Morgan, Retail Recovery Driver Lee Cheney, Special Events & Food Drive Mgr. Larry Morris, Agency Services Manager Billie Churchwell, Recept./Admin. Asst. Jennifer Newmeyer, Development Database Manager Julius Colbert, Warehouse Supervisor Maxine Oakley, Development Database Administrator Tonya Corso, ASAP Resource Coord. Jeff Ogus, Truck Driver, Class A Carter Crain, Volunteer Coord. Samantha Ojedamoya, Human Resource Assistant Anna K. Davenport, Food Resource Mgr. Phyllis M. Pulley, Executive Assistant/Office Manager Tara Davis, Data Entry Asst. Robin Reed, Facility Maintenance Specialist Vernetta J. Eastman, PR Project Coord. Allen Reep, Vice President of Development Tony Evans, Senior Driver Jim Rasmussen, Warehouse Project Coordinator Angel Feimster, Outreach Asst. Christy L. Simmons, Manager of Public Relations Frances J. Ferrell, Operations Coord. Jerry Turner, Driver/Transport Administrator John Foister, Volunteer Services Mgr. Sally Wade, Grant Writer Pamela L. Foust, Outreach Coordinator Lois Walker, IT Manager Joe Glenn, Driver Tyrone Wallace, Driver Charlie Hale, VP of IT & Operations Sherwood Young, Director of Human Resources Andrew C. Hefner, Transp./Log. Mgr.

Durham Branch Staff Calvin Bragg, Housekeeper/Janitor Peter Sloane, Operations Manager April Morgan, Outreach Coordinator John Wearing, Driver/Warehouse Assistant Anthony Reyeros, Warehouse Coordinator Tony Wortham, Retail Recovery Driver

Greenville Branch Staff

Jody Anderson, Driver Brandon Randolph, Driver Christal Andrews, Outreach Coordinator Scott Repko, Shopping Attendant Larry Motteler, Operations Manager John Saieed, Janitor/Housekeeping Roger W. Neely, Branch Ops. Coordinator

Sandhills Branch Staff John Bonzo, Driver John Lenzi, Operations Manager Michael Cotten, Outreach Coordinator Tammy Sinnott, Shopping Attendant Ray Garner, P/T Whse. Assistant Tom Whitaker, Driver/Warehouse

Wilmington Branch Staff Dennis Connor, Warehouse Manager Sarah Cox, Outreach Coordinator Michael Whittemore, Warehouse & Product Marketing Assistant

Fall 2008 UPCOMING EVENTS Nonprofit Org. AUGUST–DECEMBER —Students Against Hunger Lowes Friends Feeding Friends 2008 U.S. Postage August 25–December 6 Lowes Friends Feeding Friends campaign offers Lowes PAID All public, private, and charter schools in our 34-county customers a special opportunity to donate food Raleigh, NC service area collect food and funds. and funds to support the Food Bank. Shoppers can Permit #1681 www.foodbankcenc.org/SAH purchase prepackaged bags of food for the Food Bank. Those who would like to donate food may place it in 3808 Tarheel Drive NOVEMBER—2008 Heart Of Carolina Food Drive the barrels located at the front of each Lowes Foods Raleigh, NC 27609 November 21–December 10 store. The food drive runs until December 31 at all Host a food or funds drive and be a part of the ABC 11 Lowes Foods stores. Heart Of Carolina community-wide effort to help stock the Food Bank shelves for the holidays. DECEMBER Heart Of Carolina Drive Thru Day RSVVP 2008—Tuesday, November 11 December 10 (all day) Choose from a list of Triangle area restaurants and enjoy ABC 11 Heart of Carolina Food culminates on this a meal out while the Food Bank receives a portion of the date with “Drive Thru Day.” Simply drive up to proceeds. your local Kroger and drop off food and funds to benefit the Food Bank. ABC 11 provides live coverage throughout the day.

America’s Second Harvest becomes Feeding America In September our national food bank network, America’s Second Harvest, became Feeding America. This new name best conveys the national mission—providing food to Americans living with hunger and support- ing, in a literal way, the work that the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina does daily—fighting hunger in 34 counties, so no one goes hungry. The new name directly conveys that we are providing access to food for people who need it. We are…FEEDING AMERICA.