Bringing the Basics - Food and Water

America's Second Harvest Food Banks Helping in the Aftermath of Charley

CHICAGO --- August 20, 2004 --- Recovering from disaster takes time, energy and the fuel to keep on going.  America's Second Harvest and the Florida Association of Second Harvest Food Banks have been in disaster recovery mode for the past week, and expect to be providing the food and water needed to restore the southwest coast of Florida for as long as necessary.  America's Second Harvest works with direct service agencies like, FEMA, the American Red Cross, and Salvation Army and transports, stores, sorts and distributes the food and water so desperately needed.

Since Monday morning, America's Second Harvest network of more than 200 food banks and food rescue organizations has shipped almost 30 truckloads of desperately needed supplies, including water, cleaning supplies, nutrition bars, snack and cereal products, and sports drinks.  At least 20 additional truckloads of product will arrive in Florida by the beginning of next week.

The products are coming not only from many warehouses of food banks across the nation, but directly from donor companies like Coca Cola, Del Monte, Kellogg's, Procter & Gamble, and Masterfoods USA.  Many of these companies provide shelf-stable prepared foods and snacks and have also paid to ship the goods across the country to hard-hit Florida counties.

During previous recovery efforts, America's Second Harvest learned the painful lesson that after the initial burst of good will and generosity, months of arduous cleanup and rebuilding often strain disaster victims and recovery workers alike.  For that reason, the America's Second Harvest food banks in Orlando, Ft. Myers, Tampa, and Sarasota will continue to do the work they have always done – provide food to those who through no fault of their own cannot feed their families.

During the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Charley, America's Second Harvest food banks set up distribution centers for Red Cross, Salvation Army and other direct service organizations.

 "Even after the emergency service providers leave, America's Second Harvest food banks will continue to provide food to pantries, soup kitchens and emergency housing shelters until those adversely affected by Hurricane Charley have been made whole," said Robert Forney, president and CEO of America's Second Harvest.

These long-term recovery efforts take money, dedication and the continued support and generosity of millions of people.  America's Second Harvest already receives product donations from the country's top 500 retail outlets, wholesale distributors and manufacturers of food and grocery products.  But it costs money to move the goods to hard-hit Florida counties.

On average, it will cost America's Second Harvest four cents per pound to transport the donated product, which equates to $1,500 to move a truckload of 42,000 pounds.  Initial estimates indicate a possible need of as many as 50-100 truckloads of emergency food and grocery supplies to the hurricane region for relief in the next few weeks.

In order to make sure that victims of Charley receive what they need, America's Second Harvest is calling for help in moving the food and grocery products from their current locations to where they are needed in Florida.  Already, America's Second Harvest has received support from an anonymous donor, who has promised to match individual donations to our disaster assistance fund.  To make a financial contribution to these efforts, click on www.secondharvest.org/disaster.