Mid-Ohio FoodBank Spring 2008 Newsletter

We believe that no one should go hungry and are dedicated to building a community that makes food accessible to all people.

Spring 2008 Newsletter

Articles:
Donor Focus: Shanile Goggins
Agency Focus: Central College Presbyterian Church
Ladybug Baby Bug
Operation Feed to Raise 4.25 Million Meals
Answering the Call

Regular Features:
Did You Know?
Food Facts
Volunteer Focus

Donor Focus: Shanile Goggins

Shanile Goggins' generosity during her battle with cancer inspired a whole company to feed families in need.

Shanile Goggins was only 19 when she was diagnosed with Hodgkins stage four cancer. Although the doctors gave her only six months to live, Shanile defied their predictions and made it to 23. During the last month of her life, she saw a news report about local pantries running low on food.

She immediately called her brother Michael at work and asked him to come pick up her ATM card. She wanted him to get as much money out of her account as possible and donate it to help out the food pantries. A few weeks later, Shanile passed away.

Michael’s coworkers at Pinnacle Data Systems

in Groveport learned of his sister’s act of charity and decided to hold their own collection for Mid-Ohio FoodBank in her memory. They raised $1,500.00 to donate to the Foodbank and further Shanile’s wish to help families in need.

According to Michael, “I would like to thank everyone that was involved in this monumental event for my family and the people who will benefit from this kind action. One kind moment at the right time can change a person forever.”

While Foodbank staff never had the chance to meet this remarkable person, we are genuinely moved by her story and by everyone at PDS who paid such a wonderful tribute to her memory.

Return to Top

Agency Focus: Central College Presbyterian Church

The pantry at Central College Presbyterian Church serves 40 families a week, and they get help from a remarkable variety of people. Their pantry, located at the back of the Westerville church’s campus, provides a helping hand for families struggling to make ends meet. Volunteers ranging from age 6 to those nearing the century mark make this possible. Volunteers from the church and the community handle stocking the shelves and packing bags for clients. They even take personal care products to a local Alzheimer's care home for the residents to sort into bags for the pantry. While they serve a wide range of families, some volunteers have noticed a trend of families moving in together to share living expenses. According to Roger Rudduck, one of the pantry coordinators, “The families we serve either work for minimum wage or are unemployed. If the price of gas keeps going up, more will need help.”	Gavin loads up his mom's car at Central College Presbyterian Church. The pantry is a lifeline, especially since his family falls between the cracks - making to much to qualify for food stamps but not enough to make ends meet.
Central College is such a huge help to those in need. Each family helped by the pantry pushes a full cart of groceries out the door to load into their cars. As long as there are people in need, the caring folks at Central College Presbyterian Church will be ready to offer a friendly face and a helping hand.
Return to Top

Ladybug Baby Bug

When Mark and Janice Perkins retired, they decided to fulfill a lifelong dream to write and illustrate a children’s book. As parents and grandparents, they can’t stand the idea of any child facing hunger.

Since the book was published, they’ve been donating a portion of the proceeds to Mid-Ohio FoodBank to help provide meals to children and their families.

Click here for information on how to order Ladybug Baby Bug.

Their book, Ladybug Baby Bug is a bedtime story for young children. To order a copy for your own little reader, visit www.authorhouse.com, and search the Book Store for Ladybug Baby Bug.

Return to Top

Operation Feed to Raise 4.25 Million Meals

Columbus College of Art and Design president, Denny Griffith, welcomed community leaders and campaign coordinators to the official kick-off of the 2008 Operation Feed campaign. The kick-off, held on March 11th at CCAD’s Canzani Center, also marked the public unveiling of gigantic sculptures designed by local architects using ordinary canned goods and created for a Canstruction® competition. Canned goods used to build the sculptures were donated to Operation Feed, a community-wide food and funds drive coordinated by Mid-Ohio FoodBank and United Way of Central Ohio.		Sullivan Bruck Architects built a piggy bank out of cans tuna at the Operation Feed campaign kick-off and Canstruction® competition at the Columbus College of Art & Design.
2008 Campaign Chair, Yvette McGee Brown, president, Center for Child and Family Advocacy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, announced this year’s campaign goal of raising 4,250,000 meals. While raising meals to help those in need, McGee Brown will also work to raise awareness of the issue of childhood hunger in central Ohio. Theotis (Theo) L. James, president, Transport Workers Union Local 208, is serving as this year’s labor chair. He will support the campaign as a spokesman and liaison to labor while assisting in the recruitment of new campaigns. The WBNS-10TV Food Parade is moving to a new “wild” location in 2008! On Saturday, April 26th, you can drop off your food donation at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. and receive discounted admission to the zoo. Watch for more details on our website. Operation Feed is critical to ensuring that there is an adequate supply of food at Mid-Ohio FoodBank’s network of pantries, soup kitchens and emergency shelters. For more information about how you can get involved in Operation Feed and provide meals for needy families in central Ohio, contact Joan Casto Lloyd, Operation Feed Campaign Director, at 614-274-7770.

(From left) 2008 Operation Feed Campaign Chair, Yvette McGee Brown, president, Center for Child and Family Advocacy at Nationwide Children's Hospital and Operation Feed Labor Chair, Theotis (Theo) L. James, president, Transport Workers Union Local 208.
Return to Top

Answering the Call

This past December, in response to a national trend of declining food industry donations and waning availability of government commodities, the Foodbank found itself in a tough spot. Our network of over 530 food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters were feeling the pinch: shelves were bare and needs were outweighing supplies.

The mounting need for food prompted us to go into high gear, speaking with media and increasing outreach to the community. The Columbus Dispatch even did a series of articles and issued a call to action to readers. Our community answered the call with record-breaking support.

Thank you!

A surge of donations stocked our shelves through the holidays. Many came by with bags of groceries in hand or trunks full of canned goods. Food drives were held, and 202,617 pounds of food were brought in bag by bag.

Businesses also stepped in to help. The 10TV Family Fund enabled us to make special food purchases. Glory Foods and The Kroger Company responded with truckloads of food. Radio stations and NBC 4 asked their audiences to bring food to their events around the city. State of Ohio employees and others donated money so we could purchase 25,000 chickens. Altogether, we were able to supply over 719,000 pounds of extra food for our agencies’ holiday efforts. We are so thankful to you for your selfless show of compassion and for all you do to make a difference for hungry people in our community.

However, we aren’t out of the woods yet. With food prices expected to rise between 3 - 4% this year, more families will struggle. One of the best ways to help fill the gap is to participate in Operation Feed, our annual food and funds drive. The Operation Feed campaign kicked off on March 11, and will continue through the summer.

Return to Top

Regular Features:

Did You Know?

The rising costs of food is hitting everyone in the pocketbook. For families barely making ends meet, the pinch is extra hard. According to the USDA’s Consumer Price Index, food is expected to rise between 3-4% in 2008. This is on top of the 4% increase from 2007, the highest annual increase since 1990.

Since last January, the following food prices are up:

Dairy up 12.8%

Eggs up 34.7%

Poultry up 8.3%

Fresh fruit up 6.6%

Return to Top

Food Facts

This March came in more like a chicken than a lion or lamb. The Foodbank was very happy to welcome spring with a donation of 18,000 dozen eggs from the Ohio Egg Industry.

High protein foods are harder to come by, so this abundance of eggs will come in handy.

Other reasons to be thankful for eggs:

They’re a great source of choline, a nutrient essential for pregnant women.
They contain riboflavins which are important for red cell development.
Egg yolks contain healthy monosaturates and polyunsaturated fats.

Return to Top

Volunteer Focus

For some time now, Don George, Business Administrative Coordinator of Honda of America Mfg., Inc. and his wife have been looking for a place to volunteer.

They give daughter Ashlea, a Foodbank employee, credit for selling them on helping at the Foodbank.

But it was Don who sold his work associates on joining forces to make it a group effort.

Honda of America employees sort food at Mid-Ohio FoodBank.

They committed to volunteer quarterly — a commitment made easier by the Honda Hero Volunteer Program encouraging associates to be active in their community.
When asked about the group’s reaction to the experience, Don shared “We really enjoyed doing something together outside of work. We’re blessed with good jobs at a great company and now we’ve found a good way to share that blessing.”

To volunteer, call 614-274-7770.

Return to Top

Return to Publications Page View Site Map

Mid-Ohio FoodBank w 1625 W. Mound Street w Columbus, OH 43223
614-274-7770 w 614-274-8063 FAX
website: www.midohiofoodbank.org
email: mofb@secondharvest.org