Second Harvest Reaches Out, Honors the Work of Faith-based Partners

As millions of people of all faiths prepare for the holidays, volunteers from many faith-based groups and houses of worship in our 19 county service territory are preparing to distribute meals for families in need during this season of giving.

Second Harvest Community Food Bank, a member of Feeding America (the country's leading domestic hunger-relief organization) applauds the tremendous efforts of faith communities for addressing the issue of hunger. Fifty-five percent of the agencies operating emergency feeding programs served by the Feeding America network are faith-based.

Second Harvest works with over 100 local and faith-based agencies year round, distributing 4.6 million pounds of food to nourish people in Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri. These soup kitchens, pantries and shelters, often primarily staffed by volunteers and financed entirely by donations, are instrumental to fighting hunger in our community and nationwide.

We must all unite in our quest to make the world a better place by lending support to those who cannot provide for their families this holiday season and year round. Together, we can provide hope to people in need.

Facts:

• Over a third of volunteers report that they volunteer primarily for religious organizations.(i)
• 44.6 percent of volunteers 65 years of age and older mainly volunteer through or for religious organizations.(i)
• Among the various types of organizations volunteers are involved with, they worked the most hours for religious organizations in 2010. (ii)
• The most common volunteer activities reported in 2010 were fundraising and collecting, preparing, distributing or serving food.(ii)

(i) Bureau of Labor Statistics.Volunteering in the United States, 2010. January 2010.

(ii) Rhoda Cohen, J., Mabli, F., Potter, Z., Zhao. Mathematica Policy Research, Feeding America. Hunger in America 2010. February 2010. 

Posted by David Davenport - Monday, 11/28/11, 10:56 AM - Comments - Category: Miscellaneous