Remembering John van Hengel

It is hard to believe a year has gone by since the passing of John van Hengel. John moved on to the “big food bank in the sky” but left behind an incredible legacy here on earth. In 1967, John took the very simple concept of “rescuing food about to be discarded, consumable but maybe not salable, and making it available in a centralized place to those in need” and through his efforts, changed the world. His legacy is truly secure as you look at the impact he made during his time with us.

Please join me at 10:00 AM on Thursday, October 5th for a moment of silence as we commemorate the one year anniversary of John’s death. Announcements will be made over the PA systems in each of our food banks at 10:00 AM asking everyone to stop whatever they are doing for a few moments and reflect on the impact John had on the world and the responsibility we now have in continuing to carry his legacy and mission into the future.

John is credited with not only founding the St. Mary’s Food Bank, the “World’s First Food Bank”, but he is also recognized as the Founder of America’s Second Harvest (a network of over 200 food banks across the USA) and the Global Foodbanking Network (GFN is a growing international network of food banks). Recently, I have been asked to serve on the Board of Directors of GFN to help guide the organization’s staff in continuing John’s efforts to develop food banks all over the world. As a member of the GFN Board I will be heading up a committee to create the John van Hengel Fellowship to be awarded to a current food banker in the United States who is willing to serve for a 30 to 60 day period in another part of the world, assisting them in the start up of a local food bank operation.

Please join me on Thursday and take a moment to remember John, what he created and what he stood for…….he would be very proud of what we have accomplished over the last year, especially the creation and role out of our organizational Values.