CityView Magazine

38 | October 2015 Additional sources include a combination of USDA com- modities, federal government distributions, state grant mon- ey, manufacturers like Campbell Soup, farmers (where as much as $151 million pounds of surplus produce are just sit- ting there unused) and community support. According to Ac- tion Pathways, in 2014 Second Harvest donated the equivalent of 8.7 million meals through these resources. Jim omas is the new director at Second Harvest Food Bank and was brought to Fayetteville for the sole purpose of filling that position and coming up with new and innovative ways to increase their outreach to our community. His role at the food bank encompasses everything from the day-to-day operations of the food bank, like the physical moving around of products, to maintaining agency relations, to providing the best environment and training for his employees and volun- teers. According to omas, "Fayetteville isn't really different from anywhere else; the need is there and there is always a way to do it better." In our area alone it would take $850 mil- lion to meet food needs. On a national level it would take 24 billion dollars. Did you know that 27 percent of children in the area are food insecure? Many of these children depend on free or re- duced meal plans through their school as their only opportu- nity for a hot meal. Second Harvest wants kids to go to school ready to learn not looking for food. omas, who has been described as coming to work every day with a smile on his face genuinely excited to get to work, believes that we live in a country with the resources and ca- pability to solve the problem of hunger. One of the reasons that this problem still exists is because of this misconception that these individuals are just sitting around and milking the situation. While there may indeed be individuals like this, the vast majority, according to omas, are out there "working and trying" to make ends meet. "ere is this stereotype that these people just don't work," said omas. But it's a gap that Second Harvest and its partners attempt to bridge. e gap le behind when hard working people are still unable to af- ford to put nutritious food on the table. Second Harvest Food Bank serves as just one piece of the pie when it comes to the fight against hunger. Other programs such as the State Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), the Backpack Program which sends kids home from school with enough food for the weekend and e Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) which works to gather and dis- tribute surplus food from the North Carolina Department of Agriculture to low-income families and individuals all work alongside Second Harvest to end hunger in our community. Of course, the best contribution is from volunteers. At any given time at the food bank, half the staff is made up of volun- teers who sort the incoming product, help with distribution and work in the office. Jodi Phelps, the agency advancement director, believes that at Second Harvest, volunteers and do- nators can "rest assured that this is a place where [they] put resources to best use and where your time and money go di- rectly to the cause." On the subject of future plans regarding Second Harvest's Did you know that 27% of children in our area are food insecure? Many of these children depend on the free or reduced meal plans through their school as their only opportunity for a hot meal. Second Harvest wants kids to go to school ready to learn not looking for food. A harvest for the taking.

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