St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance would like to thank the thousands of people from around the Valley, the state of Arizona and the world for their generous donations of food, time and funds, which allowed the world’s first food bank to embark on its largest. (We say “the world” because we received a $500 donation from the United States Embassy in Bagdad, Iraq with a direction to purchase turkeys to help reach our goal!)
Because of you – because you took the time to help your neighbors and make this holiday even more special for others – St. Mary’s Food Bank can report the following totals from the week-long holiday food box distribution:
* Statewide, more than 16,000 holiday food boxes, each containing a turkey and approximately 10 pounds of produce in addition to the normal non-perishable emergency food box. That total includes the 7,000 turkeys and holiday food boxes and the 70,000 pounds of produce distributed on Nov. 22 at the Arizona State Fairgrounds – the single-largest distribution day in the 44-year history of the Food Bank.
* Statewide, an estimated 112,000 people were recipients of the holiday food distribution. This total is more than double the record 50,000 people estimated to be served during Thanksgiving week of 2010 – which at the time was a new record for the Food Bank. These numbers show how the need for emergency food continues to rise. This is a number St. Mary’s could not fathom reaching without the incredible public, and civic support of Arizonans who deem one in four children going hungry in our state to be unacceptable.
St. Mary’s anticipates the need for the December holiday season to also eclipse last year’s numbers. For families that will have little to nothing under the tree this year, the ability to gather at the table for a meal becomes even more important. Make your holiday season even more special by sharing your bounty with others.
Visit www.firstfoodbank.org or call (602) 242-FOOD (3663) to donate food, time and funds can help make this season better for those who need a helping hand. Checlk out this day-in-the-life of 100,000 people dealign with HUNGER:
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