Based in Florida's capital city of Tallahassee, Second Harvest of the Big Bend is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity formed to address the urgent problem of hunger. Our mission is to feed hungry people in the Big Bend and lead the community in the fight against hunger.
Everyone understands that hunger and fatigue holds people back; when people are hungry, they cannot succeed. The opposite holds true as well: fuel and nutrition are the key to a better future. The food bank provides nutritious food for the ill and needy, including low-income and unemployed people, to relieve situations of emergency and distress.
According to Feeding America's "2018 Map the Meal Gap" report, over 134,000 people in our service area, including 30,000 children are food insecure. That means 1 in 5 individuals live in households without consistent access to adequate amounts of nutritious food. Today, Second Harvest serves Florida's top five most food insecure counties, and 11 of the top 20.
Based in Florida's capital city of Tallahassee, Second Harvest of the Big Bend is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity formed to address the urgent problem of hunger. Our mission is to feed hungry people in the Big Bend and lead the community in the fight against hunger.
Everyone understands that hunger and fatigue holds people back; when people are hungry, they cannot succeed. The opposite holds true as well: fuel and nutrition are the key to a better future. The food bank provides nutritious food for the ill and needy, including low-income and unemployed people, to relieve situations of emergency and distress.
According to Feeding America's "2018 Map the Meal Gap" report, over 134,000 people in our service area, including 30,000 children are food insecure. That means 1 in 5 individuals live in households without consistent access to adequate amounts of nutritious food. Today, Second Harvest serves Florida's top five most food insecure counties, and 11 of the top 20.
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Charting Impact
What is your organization aiming to accomplish?
Our vision is of a hunger-free Big Bend. No one should be hungry in our community.
What are your strategies for making this happen?
Food Bank Operations - The core program of Second Harvest is the food bank designed to provide large quantities of food to those in need. We act as food storage and distribution depots for smaller front-line agencies. Second Harvest's warehouse, trucks and tracking systems ensure that struggling families have access to a safe, nutritious supply of charitable food when they need it most. Our food distribution program in the Promise Zone is supplemented by initiatives targeting at-risk youth, seniors, and those unable to access food stores. Clients receive food for no charge. Mobile Pantry - Mobile Pantries directly serve clients in areas of high need. Second Harvest's Mobile Pantry Program addresses the barrier by delivering nutritious food on-site, directly from refrigerated vehicles. Backpack Program - Our Child Nutrition Programs are targeted at children who qualify for free or reduced lunches during the school year, but seldom have consistent meals when not in school. Children are given a 'backpack' of food each Friday to ensure their nutritional needs are met over the weekend. Summer Food Service Program - By participating in the Florida Department of Agriculture's Summer Food Service Program, Second Harvest provides nutritious meals at sponsored sites to children who might otherwise go hungry. Senior Grocery Program - The Senior Hunger Program addresses the needs of fixed-income or impoverished seniors throughout the Big Bend. It helps at-risk seniors aged 60+ by providing them with food selected to accommodate the unique nutritional needs. Second Harvest is part of a team of first responders in Florida. Our state partner, Feeding Florida, collaborates with Feeding America, Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD), FEMA and other disaster responders to prepare for catastrophic events.
What are your organization's capabilities for doing this?
Second Harvest will deliver enough nutritious food for over 7. 4 million free meals this year, an increase of 51% (+2. 27 million meals) from 2015. Despite the great strides made by Second Harvest in partnership with the community, the problem of hunger continues to grow. The unmet “meal gap" in our area is about 25 million meals annually. In Leon County, over 11 million meals are missing from the dinner table. Getting food to hungry people requires a dynamic infrastructure and sophisticated management. Our ability to acquire, inspect, store and deliver millions of pounds of food annually defines the unique role of a food bank. Seven shipping docks, refrigerated trucks and a 41,000 sq. ft. warehouse with 6,000 sq. ft. each of freezer and cooler space, and staff state-certified in safe food handling. During emergencies, Second Harvest can (and has) received and shipped 10 tractor trailers (400,000 pounds) of food and supplies in a day.
How will your organization know if you are making progress?
Second Harvest tracks the receipt and distribution of all food, produce and grocery items.
What have and haven't you accomplished so far?
In 2017-18, Second Harvest will increase food distribution in the Big Bend by 15%, or 900,000 meals, when compared to last year.
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This impact information is current as of January 2019, when it was provided to us by GuideStar.
At this time, Impact information published on this organization's page has no effect on its rating per our methodology.
Program names and associated costs are listed for the top programs as reported on the charity's most recently filed Form 990. The top programs displayed will include the largest three programs, or those programs covering at least 60% of the charity's total expenses, whichever comes first.
Due to an error on this organization's Form 990, we are unable to display program information.
Organization that normally receives no more than one-third of its support from gross investment income and unrelated business income and at the same time more than one-third of its support from contributions, fees, and gross receipts related to exempt purposes. 509(a)(2)
Independent - the organization is an independent organization or an independent auxiliary (i.e., not affiliated with a National, Regional, or Geographic grouping of organizations).
