America's Second Harvest Delivers Millions of Pounds of Food and Water to Hurricane Katrina Victims
Food and fund donations from corporate and individual donors enable America's Second Harvest to reach impacted areas
CHICAGO --- September 4, 2005 --- In the days following Hurricane Katrina, desperately needed food and water – and the funds necessary to move them to where they're needed most – have poured in from donors across the country. These donations have enabled America's Second Harvest – The Nation's Food Bank Network to reach the impacted areas and begin distributing to hurricane victims across the South.
By the end of this Labor Day weekend, America's Second Harvest will have secured more than 200 truckloads of food and water for delivery to the disaster area. This equates to more than 6.3 million pounds of product, or 4.92 million meals. Dozens upon dozens more truckloads are being staged to ship over the holiday weekend and the upcoming weeks. America's Second Harvest expects to maintain this level of emergency distribution for an extended period of time.
"The tremendous support we've received is instrumental to our disaster relief efforts," said Robert Forney, President and CEO of America's Second Harvest. "We are grateful to everyone who has contributed their food and funds to this unprecedented operation. You have truly made a difference in the lives of tens of thousands of Americans affected by this disaster."
Among the corporations providing generous donations to America's Second Harvest's effort are the Kellogg Company, Kraft Foods, ConAgra Foods, Procter & Gamble, Sodexho, Campbell Soup Company, Wal-Mart and Marriott International. Additionally, more than 200,000 pounds of disaster products have already been donated by Member Food Banks from their current inventory as they support the America's Second Harvest Network in this time of crisis. More than $1 million has been raised from corporate donors, including Exxon/Mobil, The UPS Foundation, and The Pampered Chef. All weekend, Jewelry Television is donating 5% of their sales to America's Second Harvest's disaster relief efforts.
"These partnerships will help thousands of victims," said Forney. "We are grateful to each of these companies for their outpouring of support in this time of need."
America's Second Harvest has also received incredible support from individuals from all corners of the country, raising more than 4.1 million dollars so far. All funds raised for Hurricane Katrina will go toward the response efforts along the Gulf Coast and will be kept in a separate account.
While all of this is a staggering start for the relief effort, America’s Second Harvest estimates that it will take millions more dollars and millions more pounds of food and water to maintain the long-term relief effort over the coming months as the clean-up effort continues and long-term shelters continue to open across the South.
America's Second Harvest -- The Nation's Food Bank Network is the nation's largest charitable hunger-relief organization with a Network of more than 200 regional member food banks and food - rescue programs serving all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The America's Second Harvest Network secures and distributes nearly two billion pounds of donated food and grocery products annually. The America's Second Harvest Network supports approximately 50,000 local charitable agencies operating more than 94,000 programs including food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, after-school programs, and Kids Cafes. Last year, the America's Second Harvest Network provided food assistance to more than 23 million low-income hungry people in the United States, including more than nine million children and nearly three million seniors. For more on America's Second Harvest, please visit www.secondharvest.org
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Contact:
Phil Zepeda
Office: 312-263-2303 ,
x184
Cell: 312-622-2640
