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Written by Michael Muckian, Contributing writer
Nov 16, 2011
Business in Dan Stein's world has never been better. His market has diversified to include people of all ages and socioeconomic groups. Demand for his services has increased about 83 percent over the past several years.
Unfortunately, growth is not a good thing in Stein's business. He's the president and CEO of Madison-based Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin. Stein is particularly concerned about the coming holiday season, which constitutes both the best and worst of times for those who are hungry.
"The holiday season represents both sides of the coin when it comes to hunger," Stein says. "On one side, the season is positive for fundraising because people are in a giving spirit. On the other side, children who rely on free or reduced-cost meals at school have less access because schools close for the holidays. Heating bills also are higher, which leaves less money for food."
But children aren't the only ones who suffer from "food insecurity," a phrase that refers to a reduced availability of nutrition, either through lack of supply or the inability to pay for it. These days people of all ages and multiple social strata are finding themselves in that group, and many turn to Second Harvest as social and economic challenges continue to tax their resources.
"Young and old, employed and unemployed, homeless and not homeless, single people and whole families – there is no typical profile when it comes to people struggling with hunger," Stein says.
Second Harvest, one of 200 food banks affiliated with the Chicago-based Feeding America network, isn't the state's only outlet. Other affiliates include the Milwaukee-based Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin and Feed My People Food Bank, based in Eau Claire. The goal of each organization is to work with different agencies, providers and partners to get food to those who need it, Stein says.
According to Feeding America's 2010 Hunger Study, the network is annually providing food to 37 million Americans, including 14 million children, a figure that has increased 50 percent over the past five years. The demand for food has increased 46 percent overall since 2006, when food banks in the network fed 25 million Americans, including 9 million children, each year.
Among those served, 36 percent of households have at least one person working, and more than one-third report having to choose between food and other basic necessities, such as rent, utilities and medical care.
"The 16 counties we serve represent a variety of large, medium and small communities, each with its own set of challenges," Stein says. "The Hunger Study showed that over 141,000 unique individuals are served by Second Harvest Foodbank and its partner agencies each year. In many cases the services we support are not just one-time instances – they are needed frequently throughout the year."
Fortunately, the Madison community has a strong commitment to ending hunger and supports Second Harvest's goals year around, Stein says. Donations come as financial contributions and foodstuffs, as well donations of volunteer time and in-kind contributions, such as media support. Second Harvest continually looks for new and innovative partnerships to leverage the country's food supply on behalf of those who need it.
An innovative partnership still in its infancy is the Field to Food Bank program. Working through a contact from UW-Madison, the food bank made arrangements with a Wisconsin grower, a canning and processing company, and a trucking company to make available nearly 200,000 cans of carrots to those who need them, Stein says.
The grower set aside five out of his 1,400 acres of carrots slated for Del Monte and donated their output to Second Harvest. A local trucking company donated a significant portion of the costs to transport the vegetables from the field to the processing plant and from the plant either directly to Second Harvest's partner agencies or its Madison warehouse. Finally, the food bank worked with Del Monte and the can supplier to drastically reduce processing costs and the cost of the cans.
Those efforts resulted in a large amount of nutritious canned carrots with a long shelf life available to people in need.
Having access to enough of the right kinds of food is essential to proper child development, not only from a physical perspective, but also a mental and learning perspective. It's been proven that children who get enough nutritious food to eat are more successful in school, Stein says.
"Every dollar counts and every pound of food counts," he says. "Until we have completely ended hunger in southwestern Wisconsin we will not have achieved our goal."
To learn more about Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin and to donate food, money and resources, go to www.secondharvestmadison.org.
