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The very important Letter Carriers Food Drive
and a large cannery project are on the schedule
in Boise, and in Pocatello a large scavenger
hunt will benefit the Foodbank. Just check the
calendar below. And, of course, have a happy
Cinco de Mayo.
But the most glittering
event on the calendar is the 10th anniversary of
A Chefs' Affaire featuring nationally renowned
Chef Tyler Florence. There are more details
below, but we hope you will save the date –
Saturday, June 7 – at the Boise Centre on the
Grove. Our goal this year is to fund 600,000
meals. And let us know if you can help with any
of these events.
And finally, the
Foodbank lost one of its own this month. CEO
Roger Simon pays tribute to Ray Marovich.
This is the April edition of Idaho Foodbytes,
The Idaho Foodbank's electronic newsletter,
Volume VII, Number 4.
-- David Proctor
April Contents
1. 16th Annual Letter Carriers Food
Drive is Almost Here
2. Celebrated Chef Tyler
Florence to Headline 10th Annual A Chefs’
Affaire
3. Rachel's Challenge and Lift Up
America Combine for Major Food Drive
4.
Donate My Weight: Weight Loss Campaign Helps
Feed the Hungry
5. Food Prices Are Hitting
Hard
6. Your Next Phone Could Benefit the
Foodbank
7. The Foodbank Mourns Ray Marovich
8. Gallery of Giving
9. Facts of the Month:
Foodbank Efficiency
10. Quote of the Month:
David Brooks
11. The Foodbank's 2008 Calendar
You Can Help Stamp Out Hunger
16th Annual Letter Carriers Food Drive
is Almost Here
On Saturday,
May 10, Treasure Valley letter carriers will
again join forces with The Idaho Foodbank in the
National Association of Letter Carriers’ Stamp
Out Hunger! food drive. Now in its 16th year,
the Stamp Out Hunger! effort is the nation’s
largest single-day food drive, having collected
more than 765 million pounds of food since its
inception in 1993.
Last year, valley
letter carriers picked up a remarkable 200,000
pounds of donated food and $5,841 in cash. The
Foodbank will also collect old cell phones
for recycling. In past years the phones have
netted the Foodbank more than $600 in the fight
to end hunger in Idaho. Those additional funds
translate directly into food because the
Foodbank pays only shipping costs on donated
food. Those transportation costs, however, have
skyrocketed as we are all keenly aware. This
means your donations of food and funds are more
critical than ever before.
The key to
helping Stamp Out Hunger! is to put your food
out before you leave for the Komen Race for the
Cure or other activities. Just leave sturdy bags
– they don't have to be the food drive bags –
filled with non-perishable foods such as canned
soup, canned vegetables, pasta, rice or cereal
next to their mailboxes prior to the time of
regular mail delivery on May 10. Food items
should be in non-breakable containers, such as
boxes and cans.
Please, no homemade or
out-of-date food.
The amazing letter
carriers will then collect the thousands of
donations and deliver them to nearby post
offices where volunteers will pack the food for
delivery to the Foodbank. And if you happen to
stop by one of the post offices, you will see
our staff has joined the thousands of Komen
racers in spirit by wearing special pink breast
cancer awareness T-shirts. We believe we can
work to fight hunger while supporting cancer
awareness.
The Letter Carriers Food Drive
supplies The Idaho Foodbank with about one-third
of the food-drive food it collects every year.
In a state that rates as the 13th hungriest in
the nation, this food drive is vitally
important.
You can use this link to find out
why this food drive is so important... |
Saturday, June 7, at the Boise
Centre
Celebrated Chef Tyler Florence to
Headline 10th Annual A Chefs' Affaire
The Idaho Foodbank is proud to announce
that well-known celebrity chef Tyler Florence
will be our featured guest at the 10th annual A
Chefs' Affaire fundraiser, presented by SYSCO
Food Services of Idaho.
In addition to his active participation
in the A Chefs' Affaire dinner and auction, Chef
Tyler Florence will give a cooking demonstration
prior to the dinner, presented by the Idaho and
Eastern Oregon Onion Committee. Tickets are $50
and seating is limited.
As always, A
Chefs' Affaire promises to be an evening to
remember as 20 of the Treasure Valley’s most
talented chefs prepare a five-course gourmet
meal and you, our pampered guest, can choose
from a wide assortment of Idaho’s finest wines.
The silent auction will feature a wide
array of dining packages, merchandise and
services from the area's restaurants, caterers,
wineries, hotels and retailers. To top off the
evening, the participating chefs will be
auctioned to the highest bidder.
It will
be an evening unlike any seen in Idaho, an
evening of great fun, mouth-watering food, a
celebrity chef and a room full of caring and
very talented people.
Sexiest Chef
Alive
Since 1996, Tyler Florence has been
the star of several cable television cooking
shows and a regular guest on numerous other
programs. He was named the "Sexiest Chef Alive"
by People magazine.
Tyler
graduated from the College of Culinary Arts at
the Charleston, South Carolina, campus of
Johnson & Wales University in 1991. The
university later awarded him an honorary
doctorate and named a scholarship after him.
He hosted the programs Food 911
and How to Boil Water, and currently
hosts Tyler's Ultimate. His culinary
talents have been widely acclaimed by
publications that include Food & Wine, GQ,
Wall Street Journal and USA Weekend.
Chef Florence has also been featured on
television commercials for the Applebee's
restaurant chain and has contracts with Macy's,
Mikasa and Braun.
A Chefs' Affaire,
presented by SYSCO Food Services of Idaho, is
set for Saturday, June 7, at the Boise Centre on
the Grove. Tickets for the Tyler Florence
cooking demonstration are $50. Tickets for the
dinner and auction are priced at $125, $200 and
$500. At the $200 and $500 level, only full
tables of 10 will be sold. Tickets priced at
$125 are available individually, for group
purchases or for full tables. They all can be
reserved by calling Melissa Tolman at 336-9643,
ext. 258. We hope you will join us for this
fantastic evening.
THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY MENU
First Course
Smoked Idaho
Trout Napoleon with Golden Idaho Caviar
Second Course
Chilled Roasted
Mushroom Consommé with fresh Ravioli and Organic
Vegetables
Third Course
Sous
Vide Five-Spice Pork Belly with a champagne
vinaigrette, wilted greens, grilled Houlemi
cheese
and fresh Idaho Strawberries
Fourth Course
Tenderloin of Beef
Medallion and Canard duet with Huckleberry
Risotto
Fifth Course
Dark
Chocolate Torte with fresh Idaho Raspberries
We are enormously grateful to these sponsors,
chefs, restaurants and wineries who make this
gastronomical delight possible:
Sponsors
SYSCO Food Services of Idaho,
CorpCasting, Albertsons/SUPERVALU, Hopkins
Financial Services, Inc., Agri Beef (AB Foods,
LLC), Idaho Statesman, KIVI Today’s Channel 6,
Journal Broadcasting (The River), J. R. Simplot
Company (Lisa Davis), Hewlett-Packard, Integrity
Audio Visual, Creative Balloons, Boise State
Radio, Boise Weekly, Micron Technology
Foundation, Inc., Idaho Business Review, Idaho
Beef Council, Ellsworth Kincaid Construction,
Fredriksen Health Insurance, Idaho Beef Council,
Idaho Wine Commission, Holland and Hart, and
Regence Blue Shield.
Participating
Chefs
Alan Turner, SYSCO Food Services of Idaho,
Event Executive Chef; Micah Simpson, Bone Fish
Grill; Richard Langston, Café Vicino; Clark
Ketchum, Chef Lou's at 8th Street; Randy King,
Doubletree Riverside; Shannon deLeur, Eurest
Dining Services/Micron; Mark Owsley, Gamekeeper
Restaurant/Owyhee Plaza Hotel; Leslie Charles,
Incredible Edibles by Leslie; Micheale Mohein,
Kanak Attack Catering; Patrick Brewer, La Vie En
Rose; Jake Arredondo, Murphy's; Rory Farrow, Not
Just Cheesecakes; Mohamed, Piazza Di Vino;
Christine Reid, Pair; Paul Faucher, Seasons
Bistro and Wine Bar; Gary Kucey, Tamarack
Resort; Fred Moffett, The Bungalow; Shane Zalac,
Thomas Cuisine Management/MK Plaza/Parkside
Café; and Richard Mount, Thomas Cuisine
Management/Simplot Food Group.
Wineries
Carmela Vineyards,
Indian Creek Winery, Koenig Distillery and
Winery, Parma Ridge Vineyards, Sawtooth Winery,
Snake River Winery, Williamson Vineyard, Weston
Winery and Three Horse Ranch Vineyard.
If you want to help with A Chefs'
Affaire, please call Cindy Fenn at 336-9643,
ext. 236. And be sure and watch our web site -
www.idahofoodbank.org - for regular updates.
Thank you for all your support.
To see more about our
celebrity chef, use this link... |
(Left) Darrell Scott, who
created the Rachel's Challenge to honor his
daughter who was killed at Columbine, spoke to
food drive volunteers about Rachel's desire to
start a chain reaction of compassion. The
athletes in the background moved 32,000 pounds
of chicken from the Tyson truck into the agency
trucks.
(Right) Students from all over
southern Idaho held food drives as part of
Rachel's Challenge. This group came all the way
from Jackpot, Nev., to deliver the 2,139 pounds
they collected.
Rachel's Challenge and Lift
Up America
Combine for Major Food Drive
This year's Lift Up America distribution of
Tyson's donated chicken got a major boost when
it was paired with Rachel's Challenge. The
result was a series of food drives in schools
across southern Idaho that produced $2,485 and
20,067 pounds of food, all of which has been
sorted, boxed and made available to our partner
agencies throughout the state.
The
culmination of the drive came on Saturday, April
19, when schools came to the Morrison Center
parking lot on the Boise State University campus
to drop their donations and Tyson distributed
32,000 pounds of chicken to some of the
Foodbank’s larger partner agencies.
Lift
Up America is a non-profit partnership of
business leaders, pro sports owners and athletic
directors created to develop creative ways to
provide compassionate aid throughout America.
For the past several years, Lift Up America has
teamed with Tyson to deliver badly needed
protein around the country. In Boise, the group
works with the Foodbank and the BSU Athletic
Department.
Chain Reaction of
Compassion
Rachel's Challenge is a
foundation named for Rachel Scott, the first
student killed at Columbine High School in 1999.
Its goal is to carry Rachel's belief that one
person could create a chain reaction of kindness
and hope. Darrell Scott, Rachel's father,
created the foundation that has been the spark
for school assemblies, workshops and outreach
programs across the country. Many Idaho schools
took up the challenge, and earlier this month
Mr. Scott spoke to 6,000 students and parents at
the Idaho Center. He also spoke at the food
distribution and urged listeners to follow the
example set by his daughter: Eliminate
prejudice, dare to dream, choose your
influences, use kind words and start a chain
reaction of compassion with family and friends.
KTVB Channel 7 brought Darrell Scott to
Boise and promoted the food drive throughout its
viewing area. The word definitely got around.
School buses full of students and food from as
far away as Wendell and Jackpot rolled into the
parking and unloaded their donations.
From start to finish it was a tremendous
experience that will benefit both the students
who heard Rachel's message and ran the food
drives, and the families who will have many
nourishing meals thanks to the generosity of
hundreds of generous participants.
Your food drive doesn't have to be
as large as this to be successful. Just click
here for some great ideas about how to hold your
own drive... |
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"Donate My Weight"
Weight Loss Campaign Helps Feed the
Hungry
The
first part of Ben Miller’s story is not that
unusual. The Pennsylvania native was a
rambunctious kid who was born to a supportive
family, grew up in a good neighborhood and
enlisted in the Navy right out of high school.
But shortly after that Ben's life took a
difficult turn. Panic attacks drove him out of
the service and into a depression that he tried
to manage with food and alcohol. Eventually his
weight ballooned to 460 pounds.
Marriage
and good medical care got him back on track, and
he made three important decisions. The first was
to loose all 230 pounds he had gained. The
second was to donate a pound of food to his
local food bank for every pound he lost. The
third was to put his story online and bring as
many people – and food banks – into the campaign
as possible.
Photo: Ben Miller at 404 pounds.
Join the Campaign
The result is Donate My
Weight, a program to benefit food banks across
the country.
The idea is beautiful in
its simplicity. Ben donates locally for every
pound he loses. At this point, Ben's total is 70
pounds lost and donated. But the pledges and
donations totaled on his web site are up to
$6,000 and 52,400 pounds of food.
You
can support his efforts by matching his weight
loss with either food or funds. Or you can join
his weight-loss program and match your donation
with your own weight loss. Either way, every
pound and every dollar will directly to The
Idaho Foodbank.
The campaign is easy to
join. Simply start at the link below to go to
Ben’s web site. You can read his story and track
his progress. To sign up as a donor, go to
http://www.donatemyweight.com/Jointheteam.htm
and designate The Idaho Foodbank as the
beneficiary.
This is the perfect
definition of turning lemons into lemonade. Ben
loses weight, and hungry people eat. We hope you
will join Ben’s crusade, but even if you don’t
we hope you will read his story and join us in
thanking him for his exemplary efforts.
Ben's web site is right here... |
Food Prices Are Hitting Hard
As food prices continue
to rise, the ripple effects are being felt
throughout the country, especially among those
who can least afford it. Here are some of the
headlines:
* The Food Research and Action
Center estimated the maximum food stamp
allotment for a family of four in February was
5% short of the amount the government estimates
is needed to purchase even the minimally
adequate diet. From: http://frac.org/pdf/factsheet_foodcosts_apr08.pdf
* Government officials are projecting
the number of Americans who receive food stamps
will reach a record 28 million later this year.
Over the past year, more than 40 states saw the
number of food stamp recipients rise. From:
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/4/2/record_number_of_food_stamp_recipients
* 30% of respondents to a CNN/Opinion
Research Corp. poll said they were cutting back
on their food and medicine spending, and 50%
said they were cutting back on fuel/electricity
use in their homes. From: http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/20/news/economy/cnn_poll_cutting_back/
* Doctors at St. Christopher's Hospital for
Children in Philadelphia are seeing firsthand
the result of the nation's worsening economy and
high food and fuel prices, as more and more
underweight infants are suffering with anemia
and worse affects caused by "inadequate
nutrition." From:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/17181231.html
You can help offset some of these
difficulties with a donation right here... |
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Your Next Phone Could Benefit the
Foodbank
The Idaho Foodbank
and PhonesForGood.com have teamed up to offer
you a way to save money on your next cell phone
and benefit the Foodbank.
PhonesForGood.com is an online cell
phone retailer that partners with non-profits to
help them raise money. The company offers a
complete selection of new phones at discount
prices, and many are free with the purchase of a
calling plan. As a Foodbank supporter, you can
get a good deal on your next cell phone
purchase, and for every phone and plan purchased
through the PhonesForGood.com web site, the
company will donate $40-$50 toward the fight
against hunger.
The company offers phones
from AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, Nextel and T-Mobile.
The web site is easy to navigate and lists
prices so you can compare them to your present
service. Just remember to select The Idaho
Foodbank as your organization of choice. And
thank you in advance.
Just click here to check out the
cell phone bargains... |
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The Foodbank Mourns Ray Marovich
 By Roger
Simon
President and CEO
The Idaho Foodbank
Above my desk is the quote from President
Franklin Roosevelt that appears on his memorial
in Washington:
"The test of our progress is not whether
we add more to the abundance of those who have
more. It is whether we provide enough to those
who have too little."
On April
21, Ray Marovich died. Many of you may not know
him, but you know the fruits of his work. I
hired Ray as Director of Operations nearly 11
years ago. He loved knowing that his efforts at
the Foodbank brought food to so many.
Whenever a food drive was being held,
Ray organized the logistics. After the food
arrived at our Boise facility, Ray was one of
the first to offer his time to work with
volunteers to sort the food so it could go to
the agencies that relied on it to feed needy
families.
Whenever a food show was held
and the Foodbank was called in to re-direct the
surplus, there was Ray.
Whenever a
fundraising event required set-up activities and
tear down many hours later, again, there was
Ray.
It never mattered what the need
might be, Ray was there. He was on the fork
lift. He was behind the wheel. He was studying
distribution and donation trends. He was
compiling data for internal and external reports
so the Foodbank could tell its story.
You
may not have seen Ray, but like me you will feel
a tremendous loss in his sudden passing. Ray had
a focus in life and lived according to that
focus. He spent his final many years helping
provide enough for those with too little.
I will miss my friend and co-worker. I will miss
his work ethic, his willingness to help and his
wry sense of humor. So will everyone at the
Foodbank and people throughout Idaho. I know I
am better for the years Ray touched my life. We
all are.
If you would like to make a
donation in Ray's memory, just use this link... |
Gallery of Giving
(Left)
Toby Findley and Kevin Bish
came up with a major follicular response to the
Rachel’s Challenge food drive held at Boise’s
Cable ONE. Senior Customer Sales and Service
Representative Dave McClung set up the food
drive as a contest among the company's six
customer service teams. The Findley-Bish team
led the pack with 378 pounds, then Toby and
Kevin decided to put their hair on the line to
increase the cash donations. Their co-workers
made their pledges, and the two shaved both head
and facial hair to raise an additional $360. In
all, the fabulous Cable ONE employees generated
602 pounds and $2,480. What can we say, guys.
Thanks for a great effort. Somewhere Yul Brynner
is smiling.
(Right)
Earlier this month, the Bank
of America Charitable Foundation generously
awarded The Idaho Foodbank a $6,000
capacity-building grant. The check presentation
was made in the Foodbank's Boise warehouse by
Clint Foote, senior vice president and Consumer
Market Executive, to Roger Simon, the Foodbank's
president and CEO.
Another way to give is to
use the Foodbank's virtual food drive. Just
click here for a look... |
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Fact of the Month
A recent national study
showed that people believe charities spend about
36% of every donated dollar on overhead, and 62%
of those surveyed thought that was too high.
Your Idaho Foodbank spends 4.7% on
overhead and has been rated as the most
efficient non-profit in Idaho three years in a
row.
http://www.idahofoodbank.org/donate.htm |
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The Foodbank's 2008 Calendar
May 10 – National Association of Letter
Carriers Food Drive. (Please help us reach our
goal of 225,000 pounds.) Treasure Valley
May 15 - Reception and open house to honor
generous donors and supporters at the Foodbank's
new facility in Pocatello, 555 South 1st Avenue,
6-8 p.m. RSVP to 233-8811 by May 7. Pocatello
May 19-22 – Cannery Project. Help us can white
beans. Volunteers needed for three-hour shifts,
morning and afternoon. Call Cindy Fenn,
336-9643, ext. 236. Boise
May 31 –
American Bikers Aiming Towards Education (ABATE)
scavenger hunt to benefit The Idaho Foodbank.
233-8811. Pocatello
May 31 – Bogus Creek
Ranch Wine Walk, 3-9 p.m. Canned food and cash
donations accepted to support the Foodbank.
Admission $46 for wine tasking, wine walk,
dinner, discussion and dancing. Reservations
required at 887-7880. Boise
June 7 – A
Chefs' Affaire, the 10th anniversary gala
celebration, featuring Chef Tyler Florence.
Boise
June 9 – August 22 – Picnic in the
Park. Free lunches in Boise city parks for
children ages 1-18. Call Jim Zieglmeier,
336-9643, ext. 232. Boise
September 8-14
– Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft. The
72-hole golf tournament and associated
activities are set for Sept. 8-14 at Hillcrest
Country Club. Ticket sales can benefit the
Foodbank.
http://www.albertsonsboiseopen.com/tickets/tickets.php
Boise
Your time and skills are like gold
to us. Please volunteer now. Click here for
information... |
Thank You!
The Idaho Foodbank is a network of 200
non-profit agencies statewide, is an affiliate
of America's Second Harvest - The Nation's Food
Bank Network and is proud to be supported by
several United Ways in Idaho. For the second
consecutive year we have been awarded the
coveted four-star rating by Charity Navigator
and judged to be the most efficient non-profit
organization in Idaho.
That means your donations go further at the
Foodbank than at any other non-profit in Idaho.
Please consider helping us feed hungry Idahoans
by donating online today.
You can use
the handy form at the bottom to forward this
edition of Idaho Foodbytes to any of your
friends who want more information about hunger
and poverty in Idaho, want to know more about
the Foodbank or would enjoy photos of recent
Foodbank events.
To see our past
newsletters and get much more information about
who we are and what we do, check our
award-winning web site:
http://www.idahofoodbank.org (First
place, Idaho Press Club 2005). You are also
welcome to stop by our three warehouses: Boise,
3562 S. TK Avenue; Lewiston, 3600 E. Main; and
Pocatello, 919 S. 2nd Avenue.
Unsubscribe information is at the bottom of this
newsletter. If you would like to receive our
free print newsletter, Food for Thought,
email Shellie Harvath at
sdharvath@idahofoodbank.org .
Your
e-mail address will be used only by The Idaho
Foodbank. It will not be sold or loaned to any
other organization.
This link will take you to our
secure donation page... |
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