Hunger Awareness Month

30 Ways In 30 Days

Roadrunner Food Bank Is Taking Action!

September is Hunger Action Month! Roadrunner Food Bank, a member of the Feeding America network, is asking our community to pledge to fight domestic hunger.  The theme this year is “30 Ways in 30 Days.” 

We’re encouraging you to take action against hunger in some way every day this month.  We’ve provided some helpful tips for every day in September that you can do to support Hunger Action Month.  CLICK HERE to view our suggested tips calendar.

Plus, you can choose to take the “My Way Pledge” below in the orange box.  This pledge lets you decide how you are going to help during Hunger Action Month.  By signing up you can help Roadrunner Food Bank earn a truckload of food.  Take the pledge and then take a few minutes to invite those you know to take the pledge today.

We are working harder every day to assist our fellow New Mexicans with food.  It’s a daily challenge and we are always looking for new ways to meet it head on.  Hunger Action Month is a crucial time to raise awareness and get people involved in fighting hunger all month long.

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Mark your calendar to attend Souper Bowl 2011 on Saturday, January 29, 2011.  Come enjoy soups and desserts from more than 40 area chefs and restaurants.   SOUPER BOWL TICKETS MAKE GREAT GIFTS FOR FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND BUSINESS ASSOCIATES!! The event will be held at our distribution facility at 5840 Office Blvd NE.  (DIRECTIONS HERE) TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW!  READ MORE ABOUT THE SOUPER BOWL HERE >>> Ticket prices are $40 in advance ($45 at the door) for adults and $10 for children (12 and under).  Please call AnnaMarie Maez at 505-349-8921 for information.  CLICK HERE TO RESERVE TICKETS NOW!!

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Food Bank News

Governor Visits Roadrunner to Announce Stimulus Grant

On Thursday, August 12, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson announced he is dedicating funds from the Recovery Act that will benefit the six food banks in the state including Roadrunner Food Bank.  Approximately $950,000 will be allocated to the NM Food Bank Association.  The NM Human Services Department will contract with the NM Association of Food Banks to purchase fresh food such as produce, peanut butter and canned products to help feed the increasing numbers of hungry New Mexicans in our state.  It is estimated the funds will provide about 40 truckloads of food.

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Hunger Relief Events

Rotary and Continental Energy Systems, LLC

 To Host Benefit Golf Tournament for Food Bank

Attention Golfers!

Join us for the Second Annual Rotary Club of Albuquerque/Continental Energy Systems, LLC Red, White and Blue Charity Golf Tournament hosted by the Rotary Club of Albuquerque.

The tournament is presented by Ethicon Endo Surgery and benefits Roadrunner Food Bank. 

The tournament will be held on Saturday, August 28, 2010 at Isleta Eagle Golf Course.   The format is a four person scramble with a shotgun start at 9:00am. 

Teams of four are $600 or you can join as a two-some or an individual. 

Online Registration is available by clicking the link below:

Visit the tournament website HERE >>>

For additional information, please call Bill at 242-2651

             

         

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Food Bank Partners

LULAC and Tyson Foods Donate to Food Bank

A Full Tractor-Trailer Load of Chicken

Last month a wonderful gift of protein arrived to the food bank.  Thanks to both LULAC and Tyson for generously donating a semi-truck load of food.  The gift of more than 31,000 pounds of chicken will help the nearly 40,000 different New Mexicans we serve every week through a network of 600 partner agencies and 5 regional food banks.

The gift is part of a three-year commitment to fight hunger in our country.

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Food Bank Partners

Walmart Associates Help Food Banks in NM With Vote

The New Mexico Association of Food Banks (NMAFB) has been selected as one of five finalists for the Walmart Foundation’s Associates Choice Program.  From June through August, Walmart Associates can go online to the Walmart Foundation website and vote for one of the 5 nominated charities for the award.  The charity with the most Associate votes will receive a $100,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation.

The NMAFB is made of up six food banks across the state.  The Walmart grant would be used to provide access to healthy food programs such as fresh produce or a number of other healthy food programs for nearly 40,000 New Mexicans who seek emergency food assistance each week.  If you know a Walmart Associate, share this information with them and encourage them to cast a vote for the New Mexico Association of Food Banks.  It’s a vote to feed hungry New Mexicans!

NMAFB Members:

• The Community Action Agency Food Bank of Southern New Mexico – Las Cruces

• The Community Pantry – Gallup

• ECHO Food Bank – Farmington

• The Food Bank of Eastern New Mexico – Clovis

• The Food Depot – Santa Fe

• Roadrunner Food Bank – Albuquerque

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Volunteer News

Volunteers Recognized for Service to Food Bank

In June, Roadrunner Food Bank honored volunteers who have given regular service to the Food Bank over the past five years.  During the volunteer recognition, 26 individuals, eight businesses, three churches and three civic organizations were honored for their volunteer hours and the tremendous service they give to the food bank and the hungry we serve. Over the last five years, volunteers contributed 169,834 volunteer hours at Roadrunner Food Bank.  In the last year, volunteers contributed 62,741 service hours from 9,362 different people.

Volunteer Nancy Klein and Executive Director Melody Wattenbarger

Two individuals were recognized for contributing the most hours over the past five years.  Nancy Klein volunteered 1,188 hours, and Lois Page has contributed 600 hours.
From Left, Receptionist Jason Riggs, Volunteer Coordinator Christina Berlin, Volunteer Manager Darrell Yonemoto, Lois Page, and Volunteer Supervisor Jacob Frazier	Eight businesses were honored for the service given by their employees at the Food Bank including: Blue Cross & Blue Shield of NM Cardinal Health Citi City of Albuquerque The Gap Intel PNM Resources Target Stores

The three churches who received volunteer recognition included:

• Faith Lutheran Church

• Church of the Risen Savior

• Sage Brush Church

The three civic organizations that were recognized included:

• The Great Southwest Council of Boy Scouts of America

• Duke City Civitan Club

• Single Boomers Meet Up Group

Roadrunner Food Bank says THANK YOU to all the volunteers who help us in our work to end hunger in New Mexico!  We are grateful for your service, your dedication to our work and the generosity you demonstrate time and time again.

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Food Bank News

Thirty Years of Service to the Community

Beginning in July, Roadrunner Food Bank will commemorate its anniversary as we look back on the 30 years of service we have provided to hungry people in New Mexico.   From July through June 2011 we will have ways you can become involved in helping us honor our 30 years of service to the community. 

Here are some suggestions how you can help:

• Join our monthly giving society, the Roadrunner Club, by contributing $30 a month

• Challenge 10 friends or family to bring in 30 pounds of non-perishable foods

• Host a food drive in your place of business and challenge everyone to bring in 30 pounds of food

• Honor someone in your life who has a 30 something birthday, anniversary, etc. with a gift to the Food Bank.

A Short History of the Food Bank - Founded in 1980

The Food Bank’s founder, Reverend Titus Scholl, created Roadrunner Food Bank in 1980.  Reverend Scholl recognized the tremendous poverty and hunger in our community and wanted to do something about it.  After creating the Storehouse (an agency that currently receives food from Roadrunner), he discovered the world’s first and newly created St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance in Phoenix, AZ.  He took their idea of a “bank” of food and ran with it.  His widow, Charlotte Scholl, has said that he formed a close bond with the founders of the Phoenix Food Bank.  They shared ideas, frustrations and possibilities of how to help support the hungry in their own communities.  The concept of a “bank” of food was completely new in the US at the time, but Reverend Scholl and others who first formed food banks in America were pioneers.  They saw firsthand the need in communities and recognized how a food bank could serve as a repository of food and serve agencies and people who needed help with food.  In fact, in the early 1980’s many food banks in America were founded in response to the growing numbers of hungry.  A national organization was started to create a “bond” among these food banks, and many of the first food bank founders such as Reverend Scholl were instrumental in the sharing of ideas.  This new national organization formed and called itself Second Harvest (now known as Feeding America).  Roadrunner Food Bank became the 40th member to join this new organization. But those first few years were difficult.  It was a challenge to convince food related companies willing to donate food.  In fact, Reverend Scholl traveled around the country to “source” food, and when food was donated, finding transportation to get the food here to New Mexico was another challenge.
Roadrunner moved into its new facility in 2009	Stories have been told by existing staff and board members that Rev. Scholl was so passionate about helping the poor and the hungry, that he used his own personal funds to start the food bank.  Other stories have circulated stating that some the initial food distributions were done out of the trunk of a car and consisted of corn on the cob.
In 1981, the Food Bank found its first home.  The first warehouse was located on Edith near Gibson at 1119 Edith Blvd SE.  Today, it is the home of the Albuquerque Community Schools Project.
Other Events of 1980 John Lennon was shot and killed The price of gas was $1.00/gallon The #1 movie in 1980 is Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back In 1980 Mount St. Helen erupts	The original home of Roadrunner Food Bank on Edith Blvd

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Hunger In New Mexico

New Study Reveals Record Number of New Mexicans

Seeking Weekly Emergency Food Assistance

A landmark study released last week by the New Mexico Association of Food Banks and Feeding America (the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization) reports that nearly 40,000 New Mexicans are seeking food assistance each week.

That’s the equivalent of having a city the size of Farmington need emergency food every seven days.

Some of the statistics pulled from the study are below:

• 40% of the members of households served are children under the age of 18. 

• 13% of the members of our client households are elderly.

• 54% of surveyed clients report having to choose between paying for food and paying for utilities or heating fuel.

• 38% had to choose between paying for food and paying their rent or mortgage.

• 45% had to choose between paying for food and paying for medicine or medical care.

• 42% had to choose between paying for food and paying for transportation

• While thousands of New Mexicans receive assistance through SNAP  (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program), those funds only provide 2.3 weeks of groceries.

This national hunger study includes data collected from February through June 2009.

In New Mexico, 459 people seeking emergency food assistance were surveyed as well as 454 agencies that provide food assistance around the state. 

This is the first large scale research study to capture the significant connection between the recent economic downturn and an increased need for emergency food assistance. 

Read the Executive Study HERE >>>