Kids Cafe® Golf Tournament a huge success!

In the last six years, the Kids Cafe Golf Tournament has raised enough funds to provide more than 200,000 meals to children at risk of hunger. The Food Bank’s Kids Cafe program aims to alleviate childhood hunger in Arizona by providing nutritious meals to children in a safe, accessible and nurturing environment. No child deserves to go to bed hungry, and in addition to an evening meal, Kids Cafe sites offer homework assistance and a chance to exercise their creative talent.


Presented by House of Elliott Media Group and Don Bennett & Associates, 257 golfers enjoyed a day of golf at the beautiful Wigwam Golf Resort & Spa in Litchfield Park on April 11, 2008. Thanks to our generous donors, the Food Bank raised more than $100,000 for the Kids Cafe program. Also, Fergie Jenkins, a former Major League baseball pitcher, participated as an auctioneer at the golf tournament luncheon.
















Thank you to everyone—sponsors, volunteers and golfers—for making this year’s golf tournament a huge success!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

This past Saturday was the Jimmy Walker 25th Annual “Bicycles for Kids” event and talk about a “most wonderful time of the year” event! At this event, bicycles were handed out to young boys and girls from around the valley whose families may be facing unemployment, housing issues or wondering where their next meal is coming from. It’s a family-fun event with food, refreshments, a snow mountain, petting zoo and of course, Santa Claus! This year also brought with it members from our local police and fire departments, talking to the children about bicycle safety, and our very own Phoenix Suns Gorilla! An unannounced visit was made by Muhammed Ali, who gave out autographs to anxious children (and more so, parents)!

St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance participates in this event each year by providing food boxes and frozen turkeys to those families in need. This year we distributed a total of 350 food boxes and frozen turkeys! There were a lot of smiles on the faces of children and their parents alike after seeing the food boxes and finding out they would be having turkey for the holidays after all!

I would like to thank our board members who were able to participate in this event – namely Dr. Vicki Copeland, Phil Cea, Marty Laurel, Dale Rich, John Ryan and John Wirtjes! They and their families helped distribute the weighty food boxes and 15 lb. frozen turkeys. I don’t know who felt better at this event – the families receiving the food boxes and frozen turkeys or our board members, families and other volunteers who were there giving out the food items! It was a real heartwarming experience for everyone!

This was the 25th year Jimmy Walker has held this event. It’s an event of the community and sponsors coming together, coming together with one mission in mind – to help others and to make a difference in the lives of others! I want to say thank you to our food bank staff, board members and volunteers who helped make this day a truly “wonderful day of the year”!

Happy Holidays!

A Touching Story

Today, I heard a touching story from one of my staff members. A woman in Ocotillo was holding a food drive and her goal is to collect 1,200 cans of food and $600. Okay, perhaps this doesn't sound extraordinary because we have 400 food drives going on at any given time during the holiday season.

So, what made this story so touching? She is holding the food drive because it is her way to give back to the organization that helped her. A couple of years ago she was unemployed and she received a food box from us. Now, she is back on her feet and she wants to make sure that others have food when they are facing such a crisis.

We learned of her story through a reporter with the Ocotillo Republic. He was calling for comments her efforts. All we say was, "This is awesome!" If she raises the food and money she is hoping to raise, she will be able to help us provide meals to a couple thousand people.

Yes, one person can make a difference in a very big way.

This is why I feel honored to work here. We are able to make such a difference in the community and along the way we are privileged enough to meet such resilient individuals who have beaten the odds. We helped them do that. We helped them break the cycle.

We wish you the best on your food and fund drive, Trudy! Thank you!

It's Turkey Time!

It is that time of year around the Food Bank. That time when all we think about is turkeys. And, there is a very good reason for this fowl state of mind. We will be distributing 12,000 turkeys to Arizona families in need in the next two months. It is our way of helping agencies provide a comforting holiday meal to their clients, giving them reassurance for the hope that lies ahead.

In order to provide families with turkeys, we rely on the families and businesses in Arizona to make turkey donations to the Food Bank. Our goal is to collect 5,000 turkeys over the next couple of days to add to those turkeys we have already received through purchasing and large food company donations.

To kick-off our annual turkey drive, we had a new event this year...Super Saturday! On November 17, the public could donate a turkey at Desert Ridge Marketplace, Tempe Marketplace or Outlets at Anthem. In return for their turkey donation, individuals were placed in special drawings for prizes, given coupons to help start their holiday shopping and received other incentives. The day was a wonderful success with donations coming in the form of food and money. In all, we received nearly 1,100 turkeys from all of our drive-thru locations, as well as $1,700.

Another event that helped get the word out on our need for turkeys was the Birds on Bikes. A colloborative effort between Chandler Harley-Davidson, Coulter Motor Company and the Tilted Kilt, the event raised $2,500 and 110 turkeys.

Our turkey drive continues this week at all of our locations, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. And, every turkey donor has the chance to win a $250 US Airways gift card. Thank you in advance for your support...you are helping to bring holiday happiness to families who truly need the cheer.

President & CEO of America's Second Harvest visits St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance

Recently, we had the pleasure of having Vicki Escarra, President and CEO of America’s Second Harvest make her first visit to St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance. America’s Second Harvest is a nation-wide network of more than 200 food banks and food-rescue organizations that engages its members in the fight to end hunger. St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance is a member of America’s Second Harvest. The National Office of America’s Second Harvest, located in Chicago, continues their focus on developing relationships with national food and financial donors, along with their very active participation in legislative matters, working hard to ensure passage of the Farm Bill. The Farm Bill incorporates CSFP & TEFAP programs along with the Food Stamp and WIC programs. Funding for these programs is very important in helping the hungry in our community.

Vicki was able to visit the 31st Avenue, Westside and 43rd Avenue locations and was very impressed with the cleanliness and efficiency of our food bank facilities. She was very excited to hear about the programs and services we offer to the community and more so, to hear about the innovations we have introduced and are considering introducing into the food banking community. Vicki now has a better understanding of the heritage and legacy of John van Hengel as Founder of Food Banking and of St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance as the world’s 1st food bank. Other visits were made to a few of our key agency partners, Phoenix Rescue Mission, Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS) and the Phoenix Human Services Campus. Vicki also had the opportunity of meeting with St. Mary’s Food Bank Executive Committee and Senior Staff and walked away from these meetings very confident in our board and staff leadership.

2007/2008 Board Officers & Summer Hunger Campaign

Well, it’s the beginning of another fiscal year! And on that note, let me introduce to you our 2007/2008 officers for the Board of Director’s of St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance – Barry McBride, Chairman; Carol McElroy, Vice Chairman; John Ginty, Treasurer; Vicki Copeland, Secretary; and David Postal, Immediate Past President. Our new officers were elected to their positions at the Annual Board Meeting held June 28, 2007. Congratulations!

I also want to welcome our two newest members to the Board of Director’s – Morris Callahan and John Ryan! The Board of Director’s is made up of 26 community members dedicated to the mission of the food bank – “to promote the elimination of hunger through the gathering and distribution of food while encouraging self-sufficiency through advocacy and education.”. The Board of Director’s is a diverse group of community members who for various reasons feel very passionate about the work the food bank does and is committed to ending hunger. I’m very grateful to our board of directors and for their support to St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance.

One a separate note, our summer campaign is themed “Hunger Doesn’t Take A Vacation”. That’s right, hunger continues year-round, 365 days a year, 7 days a week and 24 hours a day. Summer is one of our most difficult times for receiving donated food items and is one of our busiest times! What many folks don’t realize is that during the summer months, children are out of school and many attend day-care or local youth programs, with some of those programs receiving food from the food bank. If you check out our website @ http://www.firstfoodbank.org/, click on the “Summer Awareness Hunger Campaign” to view ways the community is stepping up to the plate by holding food drives or other special events! With the support of our community, we can “send Hunger packing”!

The Volunteer Center Mural

The other day in my BLOG, I posted an article about the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony held recently at the Phoenix Central Volunteer Center. What I didn’t mention in this article was the creative mural that we had made specifically for the Volunteer Center. We wanted to have something to display in this area that was dedicated to our volunteers and that captures the true spirit of their generosity.


The mural is made up of three panels with the panel to the far left being a drawing of John van Hengel, our founder who first started as a volunteer. John is recognized nationally and internationally as the “Father of Food Banking” and dedicated his life to helping the hungry.

In the center panel are drawings of some of our volunteers and the programs they volunteer in. The gentleman pictured on the lower left represents someone from one of the many corporations that volunteer here on a regular basis. Corporate volunteers sort food, pack boxes and hold food drives to help keep our shelves stocked. Many corporations hold staff meetings here at the Food Bank and use their time volunteering as a teambuilding event.

The teenager shown on the left is a high school student who is completing his volunteer hours for a school project. He’s been volunteering here since he was a boy scout. Other group volunteers come from churches, service clubs, and local community organizations.

We have several retirees and senior groups represented by the smiling woman in the middle area of the mural. These individuals prepare meals for our Kids Cafe program, pack food boxes and work in our thrift shop. We also have a group of dedicated volunteers who work in our offices, help answer phones, sort and prepare mail.

The little girl in our mural is a recipient of groceries through our school distribution program. Children in this program attend schools where the majority of the students receive free breakfast and lunch, often their only meals of the day. And the gentleman next to this little girl is helping sort and distribute that food.

The woman on the far right side of the mural is shown delivering a box of food to an elderly or disabled person through our B.R.E.A.D. program, or could be delivering an Emergency Food Box to a family in crisis. We have no idea who the child is shown eating a sandwich but his smiling face is a reminder of why the food bank exists.
This mural represents our beginning, with John van Hengel, our Founder, and our future – made possible through the generosity of our volunteers and community members that support St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance! We welcome the community to come to the food bank for a tour and to see this beautiful mural close and upfront!