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Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina receives $9,285 donation from WCF.

18-April, 2012

Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina receives $9,285 donation from WCF.

Photo Caption:From Left to Right – Scott Griffiths, Regional Manager, Woodforest National Bank; Shay Merritt, Community Development Coordinator – Volunteers/Grants/Outreach, Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina.

CHARLOTTE, NC – Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina receives a $9,285 donation from Woodforest Charitable Foundation.  Established in 1981, Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina strives through education, advocacy, and partnerships to eliminate hunger by the solicitation and distribution of food.  The Food Bank currently provides food for almost 650 partner agencies throughout 14 counties.

Children at risk of hunger in the Metrolina region make up a large sector of the population. In fact, 15.7% of Food Bank’s service area population lives in poverty, including almost 185,000 children and seniors. Children at the greatest risk of hunger are those who are in deep, persistent poverty. Second Harvest has several initiatives to help serve these children.

A Kids Café childhood hunger initiative is in place to provide children meals, supplemental snacks, and nutritional education on-site weekly, year round in a safe and accessible environment. The Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina partners with agencies that already serve children at risk of hunger to help provide nutritious meals and snacks at their sites. Currently 37 of these sites operate in 10 different counties and serve tens of thousands of children who might otherwise go hungry. The Food Bank’s goal is to have sites in all 19 counties within 5 years. 

Another program offered by the Food Bank is the Backpack program which provides a backpack full of nutritious, ready to eat or easy to prepare foods is sent home on weekends and holidays with children at risk of hunger. Backpacks include foods such as peanut butter, tuna or chicken, breakfast bars, macaroni and cheese, soup, canned fruit, raisins and pudding cups.  School teachers and counselors say the children often tell them this is the only food in the house for the entire weekend.

“Thanks to your efforts, Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina is one step closer to meeting our goal of ending hunger in our 19 county region. Through your generosity, we have been able to feed more of our hungry neighbors than ever before. We appreciate your support and commitment to helping our Community,” said Kay Carter, Executive Director of Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina.

For more information on Woodforest Charitable Foundation’s contributions to this organization, please contact this agency directly at (704) 376-1785 or visit www.secondharvestmetrolina.org.

The Woodforest Charitable Foundation was created by Woodforest National Bank in 2005 as a direct result of its desire to support and invest in the communities in which it serves.  The Foundation is creating a legacy of commitment to those in need, enriching lives and communities through dedicated leadership and faithful administration by providing funding to qualifying 501(c) (3) charities. For additional information regarding The Woodforest Charitable Foundation, call (832) 375-CARE (2273) or visit the foundation’s website at www.woodforestcharitablefoundation.org .

Celebrating 32 years of service and ranked among the top earning banks in the United States, the Woodforest family of banks currently has assets of approximately $3.7 billion and services more than 1 million customers with branches in excess of 780 throughout 17 states:  Texas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.  For information about Woodforest National Bank, please call 832-375-2000 or visit the bank’s website at www.woodforest.com.