With spring just days away, our calendar of activities is really filling up: Feeding the 5,000 Families in Pocatello, the Feinstein Foundation Spring Campaign to Fight Hunger, the Letter Carriers Food Drive and the 10th anniversary of A Chefs' Affaire are all coming up very quickly.
You might want to keep an eye out for announcements about A Chefs' Affaire. We are planning something very special for the 10th anniversary celebration, something that might include a nationally known celebrity chef. Save the date – Saturday, June 7 – at the Boise Centre on the Grove. Our goal this year is to fund 600,000 meals. Please stay tuned and let us know if you can help us with any of these events.
This is the February edition of Idaho Foodbytes, The Idaho Foodbank's electronic newsletter, Volume VII, Number 2.
-- David Proctor
February Contents
1. CBS 2 Food Drive Going Strong, Will Run Until March 16
2. Pocatello Perspective: Feeding the 5,000 Starts with Faith Concert
3. Profiles in Generosity
4. Free Cookbook Can Help Feed Idahoans
5. Feinstein $1 Million Challenge Begins March 1
6. You Are Invited
7. Another Smart Way to Donate
8. Gallery of Giving: State Farm Insurance
9. Facts of the Month: School Lunches
10. Quote of the Month: Theodore Roosevelt
11.The Foodbank's 2008 Calendar
Second Annual
Will Run Until March 16
The CBS 2 Food Drive is well underway and promises once again to provide food and nourishment to hundreds of hungry Idahoans. Last year, thanks to tremendous community support, the first CBS 2 drive collected a total of 28,863 pounds.
This year the drive began Feb. 11 and will conclude March 16, so there is still plenty of time for Treasure Valley residents to drop off those non-perishable food items or cash donations. Drop-offs are conveniently located at Banner Bank branches, Bronco Motors, Treasure Valley YMCAs and any Idaho Youth Ranch location.
The drive has been powered by CBS 2's extremely effective, high-frequency public service campaign and the generosity of the partners listed above. And to spur things along, the Idaho Stampede stepped up on Friday, Feb. 22 and Saturday, Feb. 23. At both games, Stampede fans were able to donate either two cans of food or two dollars and receive a free ticket with the purchase of a ticket to a future game.
On Friday, Feb. 29, CBS 2 will hold a day-long Drive, Drop and Donate event in the CBS 2 parking lot located at 140 N. 16th in Boise, easily accessible for people who live, work and play downtown.
"The Drive, Drop and Donate event is such an easy way for citizens of this community to be proactive in keeping the Foodbank stocked. Here at CBS 2 we feel very fortunate that we’re able to provide an opportunity to help fight against hunger," said Bob Thomas, KBCI-TV Vice President and General Manager.
This is an especially important food drive because it comes after the holidays when food supplies are down. We are most grateful to the staff and management at CBS 2 for their compassion and dedication.
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y Colton Tanner, all of eight years old, mounted his own one-kid food-and-funds drive in Pocatello this winter. The young whirling dervish picked up food and cash at every opportunity – from school to his mother’s job site. When he was finished he had 1,547 pounds and $850, which he then helped haul into the Foodbank. Amazing job, Colton. y Just a few days before Christmas, Bella Pratt, a seventh-grade student at Anser Charter School in Boise, donated a whopping $575 to The Idaho Foodbank. The amazing thing about this donation was that Bella raised the entire sum herself. Bella worked for an entire year on this school project. And when she wasn’t out raising money, she volunteered at the Foodbank. Bella, the daughter of Kym and Melissa Pratt, started out by helping the Foodbank with the Scouting for Food drive in November 2006. She then knitted hats and sold them at a holiday bazaar. She singlehandedly organized a huge yard sale during the summer, involving Anser Charter School families, neighbors, and church friends. She raised over $450 at this event alone. The final part of the project was a Thanksgiving dinner, to which anyone and everyone was invited, at First United Methodist Church, the Cathedral of the Rockies in downtown Boise. Foodbank volunteers participated, but Bella and her family did the organizing. They ended up with a full house and a fantastic experience. Many warm thanks to Bella for her thoughtful hard work. y Last summer, folks from the Jimmy Dean Meat Company visited 10 cities and handed out free samples of their new breakfast sandwich. For every sandwich given out during this Happy Breakfast Tour, Jimmy Dean donated $1 to America’s Second Harvest – The Nation’s Food Bank Network, of which the Foodbank is a member. In Boise, the company set up a tent at Boise's Art in the Park and handed out sandwiches. The check for that promotion, which amounted to $4,000, just arrived. Our thanks to the nice people at Jimmy Dean and parent company Sara Lee. Here is an easy way to find our donation page. Just click here... |
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You Download, They Donate Free Cookbook Can Help Feed Idahoans Barilla, the maker of Italian pastas and sauces, has joined The Idaho Foodbank and America’s Second Harvest - The Nation's Food Bank Network for the second year in a row in the fight against hunger with The Celebrity Italian Table cookbook. Beginning in February, Barilla will allow the public the opportunity to download The Celebrity Italian Table cookbook from their website, free of charge. For every download, Barilla will donate $1 to America's Second Harvest or The Idaho Foodbank up to $100,000. You may have seen actress Marisa Tomei promote the cookbook on the Today show last month. With the help of renowned Chef Mario Batali and home-entertaining expert David Tutera, Barilla has developed six three-course meals inspired by celebrities such as Tomei, Debra Messing, Stanley Tucci, Chris Daughtry and Natalie Portman. |  |
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Feinstein $1 Million Challenge Begins March 1
Anyone can participate – churches, school groups, businesses or individuals. The more donations made and money raised between March 1 and April 30, the more Feinstein money we will receive. This is a great time to plan your campaign. The donations can include cash, checks and food items (valued at $1.00 per item or pound) as well as pledges. Feinstein’s past $1 million challenges have helped anti-hunger groups like the Foodbank raise $760 million nationwide. The Feinstein Challenge has become the most successful grassroots campaign to fight hunger of all times, and you can be part of it. Contact Jill Palmer at jpalmer@idahofoodbank.org or 336-9643, ext. 242. There is much more information at the Feinstein web site, right here… |
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The Idaho Foodbank's donors have been invited to |
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With tax season upon us, here is a tip to help lower this year's tax obligation. As many taxpayers know, it is better to donate appreciated stock or securities than write checks. If you have held a stock for more than one year, you are able to deduct the full fair-market value of the security – without having to pay taxes on the appreciation. Let's say you bought 1,000 shares of stock in a company over a year ago for $14 per share, and it's now worth $20 per share. You would be able to deduct the full $20,000 without ever paying tax on the $6,000 in appreciation. For those in the 15% bracket, the move saves an additional $900 (15% of $6,000) in taxes, which further reduces the real net cost of your donation. If this idea appeals to you, contact Jill Palmer at 336-9643, ext. 242 or jpalmer@idahofoodbank.org. To make that donation of stock or securities, just click here for more information... |
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Another way to give is to use the Foodbank's virtual food drive. Just click here for a look... |
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During the 2005-6 school year, 85,754 Idaho students received free or reduced-price lunches daily at 689 schools. The federal reimbursement to those schools totaled $33.9 million. Source: Food Research and Action Center |
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Care to lend a hand in the battle against hunger? Here's the link to our volunteer page... |  |
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February 9 – March 23 – Feeding the 5,000 Families annual food and fund drive. Theme this year: "I Was Hungry and You Gave Me Food." Pocatello. Your time and skills are like gold to us. Please volunteer now. Click here for information... |
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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... |
Thank you for supporting The Idaho Foodbank in the fight against hunger. Your donations of time, food and cash meant that with the help of more than 200 partner agencies your Foodbank could distribute 5.25 million pounds of badly needed food to Idaho families in 2007 and 65 million pounds since 1984.
Sincerely,
The Team at The Idaho Foodbank
