Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina (SHFBM) strives through education, advocacy, and partnerships to eliminate hunger by the solicitation and distribution of food. SHFBM has been in existence since 1981.
Company Overview
WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO
Provide a regional distribution warehouse and branches that supply food and grocery items to charitable agencies that assist people in need. Provide training, consultation, technical assistance, and hunger education to our partner agencies.
COUNTIES SERVED Serve 14 counties in North Carolina including Anson, Burke, Cabarrus, Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Rowan, Rutherford, Stanly and Union. Serve 5 counties in South Carolina including Lancaster, York, Spartanburg, Union, Cherokee READ MORE
AGENCIES SERVED SHFBM provides food for over 600 partner agencies including soup kitchens like Urban Ministries, emergency pantries like Loaves and Fishes, residential care facilities like Florence Crittendon, homeless shelters like the Uptown Men’s Shelter, senior programs like Friendship Trays, and low income daycares like Wall’s Memorial A.M.E. Zion. READ MORE
AMOUNT OF FOOD DISTRIBUTED In fiscal year 2006-2007, SHFBM distributed over 20 million pounds of food and other essential grocery products throughout our 19 county service region.
HOW WE ARE FUNDED
80% of our income comes from fundraising including special events, grants, corporate donations, direct mail campaigns and other sources. The remaining 20% comes from small handling fees that are paid by our partner agencies on about one quarter of the food that we provide for them. These fees are designed to help us recover the costs of transporting, warehousing, processing and distributing food. The low-income recipients of the food never pay a fee.
THE NEED
13.7% of our service area population lives in poverty including 12,000 children and 40,000 seniors. Requests for help are increasing. Over 65% of our emergency pantries, soup kitchens, and homeless shelters reported an increase in the number of clients served in 2007.
WHERE OUR FOOD COMES FROM
Approximately 65% of the food we distribute is donated, approximately 25% of the food comes from government commodities, approximately 5% of our food is purchased and approximately 5% comes from food drives held in the communities we serve.
HOW WE DISTRIBUTE THE FOOD
Through our main warehouse in Charlotte and through branches in Dallas (Gaston County), Mt. Gilead (Montgomery County) and Hickory (Catawba County). SHFBM has a five year plan for expanding our branch network with plans to add a branch in Spartanburg County in 2007-2007 and Rowan County in 2008-2009.
HOW INDIVIDUALS CAN HELP
Give a financial donation. This is the best way to help because every $1.00 contributed provides 6 pounds of food. Donate food or host a food drive, every pound supplied is the equivalent of 1.25 meals for a hungry neighbor. READ MORE
HOW BUSINESSES CAN HELP
Give a financial donation. Remember every $1.00 contributed provides 6 pounds of food. Encourage employees to collect funds for the Food Bank or to designate United Way donations to the Food Bank. Hold a food drive at your business. Designate matching contributions for funds employees raise. Send an employee group to volunteer. Schedule a time for a representative from the Food Bank to speak to your employees.
HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP
Include Second Harvest in your annual operating budget or make a one-time donation to Second Harvest. Your gift to Second Harvest supports almost 250 agencies in Mecklenburg County alone. Host a food drive on an ongoing or one time basis. Volunteer as a group. Include information on Second Harvest in your church bulletins or publications.
As the largest hunger relief charity in the Metrolina area, Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina works to end hunger. We do this by supplying a network of over 600 non-profit agencies and churches in 19 counties with food and essential grocery products.
