Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties Rated Among the Top 8% of US Charities

For the 4th year in a row, Charity Navigator, America’s premier charity evaluator, has awarded Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties a 4-star rating (the highest available) for the organization’s sound fiscal management.

According to Ken Berger, President/CEO of Charity Navigator, "Only 8% of the charities we rate have received at least 4 consecutive 4-star evaluations, indicating that Second Harvest Food Bank consistently executes its mission in a fiscally responsible way and outperforms most charities in America. This exceptional designation from Charity Navigator differentiates Second Harvest Food Bank from its peers and demonstrates to the public it is worthy of their trust."

As the nonprofit sector continues to grow at an unprecedented pace, savvy donors are demanding more accountability, transparency, and quantifiable results from the charities they choose to support with their hard-earned dollars. In this competitive philanthropic marketplace, Charity Navigator highlights the work of efficient charities like Second Harvest Food Bank and provides donors with information needed to give them greater confidence in the charitable choices they make.

“We are incredibly proud to once again receive a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator,” said Kathy Jackson, CEO of Second Harvest. “We are mindful of the trust our supporters place in us when they make a donation and we honor that trust by using donated resources efficiently and effectively in the fight against hunger in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties.”

Plant A Row for the Hungry provides support to local gardeners working to end hunger

Second Harvest Food Bank is committed to providing foods that nourish to those in need. Fruits and vegetables fresh from the garden can have a profound impact on the health and well-being of our clients. If you are a gardener or produce more fruit than you and your family can eat, please familiarize yourself with our Backyard Donations page.

We would like to introduce you to the Plant A Row for the Hungry program, which although run outside the Food Bank, can provide support and a network of like-minded supporters to engage with. In addition, the local committees set up special harvest donation sites and coordinate delivery.

The program has been around since 1994, when Jeff Lowenfels, a garden columnist from Anchorage, Alaska, pitched the idea to the Garden Writers of America Association. He had been trying the idea out with moderate success for a few years in his hometown, but thought it was time for a national movement.

A few years later, Joan Jackson, garden columnist at the San Jose Mercury News at the time, got involved and really championed the cause. She encouraged local gardeners to sign a pledge to grow and donate fresh produce. Within the first year, readers had donated over 34,000 pounds of fruit, vegetables and herbs through the program.

According to Jackson, the program works so well because it’s “carried out in a way that requires no governmental funds and no big cuts or donations from businesses or organizations.” In essence, anyone with access to a plot of dirt can participate.

The Garden Writers Association has many resources available to encourage success. See the links below to find local campaigns or learn more about setting up a new Plant A Row campaign.

• Garden Writers Association – Plant A Row
• Find a local Plant A Row committee and donation site
• Learn how to set up a Plant A Row campaign

We lost our backyard produce Champion when Joan Jackson retired from the Mercury News, and will be relying on the local gardening community to spread the word. If you are passionate about ending hunger, gardening, and making a difference in your local community, please consider speaking out about the cause through your blog, social networks, gardening club or place or worship, etc. If you are interested in participating but don’t have a garden, the American Community Garden Association is a resource that can help you get your hands in the dirt.

Do you Flickr? Join Our New Flickr Group! We just set up a group for photos of your Edible Gardens! Please join and post your inspiring photos:
Fruit and Vegetable Gardens of the Bay Area

What Matters to You?

Do you remember receiving a gift that really mattered to you?

For me, the gift I received that really mattered was an invitation.

The gift arrived when I was just out of school. My wife and I were in our first year of marriage, in our first apartment, living far from either of our families. We didn’t have much money, or know a lot of people. Thanksgiving was just around the corner. We felt awkward asking any of our new friends to share the holiday with us, and even more awkward making a lavish dinner for only two people. So, our grand Thanksgiving plan was to spend a day huddled in our apartment with movies and takeout.

Everything changed when we got a call from a woman we knew who lived on the other end of the bay. She invited us to her place for the Big Meal. Even though we didn't know her that well, or know who else would be there, we decided to take our chances and accept.

It turned out that we spent a truly magnificent Thanksgiving Day cooking, swapping stories, laughing, and hanging out with the oddest collection of people. There was a long-lost uncle, with beard and VW van. There was a classmate and his girlfriend. There was a friend of a friend, absent the friend that connected him. There were the two radical economic activists who lived downstairs. There was a foreign exchange student from a nearby school no one else had attended. And there were my wife and myself.

Lucky for us, our friend didn't share our reluctance to invite almost total strangers to the table. We enjoyed a wonderful holiday, and started a deep and lasting friendship.

The best thing about this gift was that it made me want to share it with others. In the (many) intervening years, my wife and I have made a practice of inviting widely for Thanksgiving. And we’ve never had a disappointing day, or spent that time with movies and takeout.

One thing I love about my work at Second Harvest is that I'm able to be a small part of a big invitation – the invitation to those who are hungry to come and eat their fill. Because of those who are willing to share what's on their table, those who are hungry can have milk and bread without cost. These are the gifts that have the power to change lives.

I'd like to know what gift you have received, that really mattered to you. Was it a bicycle or a special toy? Was it a piece of clothing or a plane ticket? Was it a gift of love? Or opportunity? Or time? Was it a meal?

I invite you to share your story by commenting below. For each comment we receive, our CEO Kathy Jackson will donate $10 to the "Share Your Story" 2009 Holiday Food and Fund drive.

Sincerely,

Bran Scott
Annual Fund and Systems Manager
Second Harvest Food Bank

Zombies support the Food Bank

On August 26, hundreds of people are expected to show up for Zombie-o-Rama in downtown San Jose. This year, event organizer Dan Vado of SLG publishing has set up a food drive to compliment the Zombie Crawl and film showing of "Shaun of the Dead".

A barrel will be set up at the movie site (Starlight Cinema) as well as at Zombie-O-Rama HQ (otherwise known as the SLG Art Boutiki).

"We're all looking for ways to make it through this very hard time, so the stuff that really resonates with people is about community," Vado says. "The first rule in a zombie apocalypse is to stick together, because that's the only way to survive."

I never thought I'd find myself in a position where I wanted to thank a pack of zombies... But wow, thanks guys!

More information available on the Zombie-O-Rama blog, at Zombieorama.com and in this Mercury News article.

Photo by Josie Lepe, Mercury News

Warehouse Space Needed

The Food Bank is in need of 15,000+ square feet of warehouse space with at least one dock door. The space needs to be located in either Santa Clara or San Mateo Counties and will be used to store our food drive barrels, miscellaneous equipment and dry food. Since we are a non-profit, ideally, the space will be donated or made available at below market rate.

Requests for food have sky rocketed this past year. The Food Bank is currently serving an average of 207,000 people each month. This space is desperately needed to store the food and equipment used to continue to meet the increase requests for our services. Please contact Pat Ybarra at pybarra@shfoodbank.com.

Attention All Philanthropic Chess Enthusiasts!

Combine your love of chess with support for the Food Bank! We are pleased to announce that Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties has been selected as the beneficiary of a chess tournament hosted by Chess USA and Chess-For-Charity.com!

Chess-For-Charity.com has found a way to leverage very small individual entrance fees from thousands of people into enormous cash prizes for the players/donors and also into significant contributions to Second Harvest Food Bank. Based on participation, the prize money can be more than 6 figures.

TO ENTER
The entry fee is $2.00. You don't need a PayPal account to pay for this; you can pay with your credit or debit card as well. 

Click here to register at the site and optionally enter in the chess tournament.

First round pairing will be announced through the ChessForDollars.com website and via your email on or about 2008-11-25 12:07:27. Then you will have 7 days to use the on-line scheduler to agree on a start time with your opponent. This process will be repeated about every 7 days for each round until the winners are declared. Conveniently, you can pick a different start time for each round!

This tournament is also an attempt to set the Guinness World Record for most players in an on-line tournament. If you enter the tournament and make at least one move in the first round, we will notify you when you can download a personalized certificate attesting to your part in this achievement if the record is set.

Please visit the Chess USA Second Harvest Tournament site to learn more.