Fighting Hunger a Year Round Job for Heart of Illinois Harvest
Local campaigns to feed the hungry usually receive increased attention during the holidays, but when the season of giving is over, the need is still as great as ever. The Heart of Illinois Harvest works every day of the year to help feed thousands of central Illinois residents.
On a Mission to End Hunger
Heart of Illinois Harvest (HOIH) volunteers collect unserved or surplus food from hotels, restaurants, grocery stores, hospitals, wholesalers, gardeners, and other donors throughout the tri-county area, according to HOIH Program Coordinator Christina Alcaraz. “The food is delivered to shelters, food pantries, missions, and other agencies to alleviate hunger within a 50-mile radius of Peoria,” she said.
Hobe Albright, a retired insurance executive, organized HOIH in 1992. “He joined with Gene Slevin, Greg Howerton, Bob Baietto, Bill Lervaag, and Dennis Brown to form the not-for-profit agency, becoming the 52nd national Harvest chapter and the first chapter in Illinois,” Alcaraz said.
She said the initial food pickup took place in December 1992, and in the early months, volunteers picked up about one ton of food each week and distributed to five shelters and pantries. “Today, 150 donor businesses donate seven or more tons of food each week. A cadre of 60 volunteers delivers food to approximately 60 recipient locations.”
In its 10 years of operation, $22,820,000 in nutritious food that would ordinarily have been thrown away has been delivered by HOIH to local shelters. That’s 5,795 tons of food. Using the USA Harvest national average of two meals per pound of food, this equals feeding more than 23 million meals to local residents, Alcaraz said.
The need for organizations such as HOIH is evident when looking at the agency’s statistics on hunger. In the Peoria area, 33 percent of the city goes hungry, which equals 40,000 people. One out of five children—or about 8,000 children—go hungry. There are 600 homeless children from the age of five to 19,” she said.
Finding the Solution
Alcaraz said the Heart of Illinois Harvest provides two important services that lead to the same goal: ending hunger. “First, we provide a pick-up service for our donors. We give area merchants an outlet for their unserved, unsold food. Then, under the guidelines of the Department of Public Health, Heart of Illinois Harvest distributes this nutritious food to shelter/care programs where hungry men, women, and children eat their meals or receive help.”
What makes this mission work is the dedication of the volunteers, more than 90 percent of whom pick up food at least once a week, according to Alcaraz. “When Heart of Illinois Harvest was first established, it was run solely by volunteers. These volunteers managed daily operation in their spare time and used their own vehicles for pick up and delivery. Today, we have two vehicles: a 1992 Chevy cargo can and a 1997 Ford truck. These vehicles were funded through grants from UPS and the Bielfeldt Foundation. We’ve also increased our number of volunteers from a handful to more than 60. We’ve definitely grown from our humble beginnings, but the need in this area has also grown. We’re still in need of more volunteers and food donors, as well as new vehicles.”
In fact, Alcaraz is the Heart of Illinois Harvest’s only employee. “With the help of the board and volunteers, we keep the organization running smoothly. My part in this consists of managing daily operations, which include volunteer coordination, food pick up and delivery, general accounting, and donor recipient relations. Some other aspects of my job are grant seeking and writing, media and advertising, and special event coordinating,” she said.
On-the-job rewards are delivered by the truckful, but so are challenges. “Some of the challenges we face are receiving enough food and monetary donations, locating volunteers, and community awareness,” she said.
Alcaraz said during the holiday season, Harvest tends to see an increase in the amount of food needed at its recipient organizations. “This is due, in part, to the holiday baskets that are distributed. We do our best to fill this need. At that time of year, there are a lot of people who feel compelled to help the needy; it’s important to realize the needs of these people aren’t just at the holidays, however.”
Alcaraz received three phone calls in mid-November from food pantries HOIH delivers to, each of them requesting more food. “On their scheduled pick up days, they had a standing-room-only crowd and ran out of food before all of the people requesting donations were served. They also told me they were receiving requests from people who hadn’t needed this support in the past. They felt this was due to layoffs and cutbacks in the job market. The demand for holiday food baskets increased considerably since last year,” she said.
A Continuing Effort
The work of Alcaraz and the HOIH volunteers doesn’t slow after the first of the year, however. “We’re out six days a week picking up and delivering food. Without this food, many of our recipient agencies would no longer be able to feed the people they currently feed. To continue operating in this way, we need community support. Volunteers are always needed—whether they can give one or two days a week or just one day per month.”
Alcaraz said monetary donations are also needed for the agency’s operational expenses. And the return on investment is impressive: each dollar donated provides 125 meals to local families and children in need. “We strive to keep our expenses at a bare minimum, but due to the increase in gasoline and auto insurance expenses, we’ve found ourselves in need of more monetary support. We’re a non-profit organization, and without monetary donations, HOIH would cease to exist,” she said.
Another key element in the hunger solution is the Heart of Illinois Harvest’s 140 food donors. “These donors are grocery stores, hotels, restaurants, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, day cares, churches, food distributors, food wholesalers, and bakeries. We pick up perishable and non-perishable food. The food picked up from restaurants, hospitals, bakeries, nursing homes, schools, hotels, day cares, and churches is generally perishable food, meaning it’s already cooked, contains meat products, or it’s fresh food that either needs to be served that day or frozen. There’s a great need for this food, and we need to increase the amount of donors that would be able to donate these types of foods,” she said.
Alcaraz said the agency works hard to ensure donating to Heart of Illinois Harvest is as convenient as possible. “We provide food safe bags and buckets and pick up whenever the food is available.”
The vast majority of the central Illinois community has responded wholeheartedly to the vision of the Heart of Illinois Harvest, Alcaraz said, though not all merchants are comfortable donating all types of food to the agency. “There are still some who worry about liability,” she explained.
This is one apprehension donors shouldn’t let affect their decision to participate in the program, she said, adding HOIH provides documented assurance to contributors. “In 1981, the Good Samaritan Food Donor Act was made into law. This act says all donors are exempt from liability connected to their food donation. We’ve compiled a packet that includes a copy of this act, a letter from the Peoria Health Department showing their support and stating there hasn’t been any food-borne illness associated with Heart of Illinois Harvest, as well as a sheet listing food donor opportunities. We would love to provide this packet to any interested merchants.”
The ultimate goal of Heart of Illinois Harvest is, of course, to end hunger in central Illinois. “Hunger is one of our community’s biggest problem, and we have a solution,” Alcaraz said. “Sixty tons of food per day goes to landfills, but it doesn’t have to be this way.” TPW
On a Mission to End Hunger
Heart of Illinois Harvest (HOIH) volunteers collect unserved or surplus food from hotels, restaurants, grocery stores, hospitals, wholesalers, gardeners, and other donors throughout the tri-county area, according to HOIH Program Coordinator Christina Alcaraz. “The food is delivered to shelters, food pantries, missions, and other agencies to alleviate hunger within a 50-mile radius of Peoria,” she said.
Hobe Albright, a retired insurance executive, organized HOIH in 1992. “He joined with Gene Slevin, Greg Howerton, Bob Baietto, Bill Lervaag, and Dennis Brown to form the not-for-profit agency, becoming the 52nd national Harvest chapter and the first chapter in Illinois,” Alcaraz said.
She said the initial food pickup took place in December 1992, and in the early months, volunteers picked up about one ton of food each week and distributed to five shelters and pantries. “Today, 150 donor businesses donate seven or more tons of food each week. A cadre of 60 volunteers delivers food to approximately 60 recipient locations.”
In its 10 years of operation, $22,820,000 in nutritious food that would ordinarily have been thrown away has been delivered by HOIH to local shelters. That’s 5,795 tons of food. Using the USA Harvest national average of two meals per pound of food, this equals feeding more than 23 million meals to local residents, Alcaraz said.
The need for organizations such as HOIH is evident when looking at the agency’s statistics on hunger. In the Peoria area, 33 percent of the city goes hungry, which equals 40,000 people. One out of five children—or about 8,000 children—go hungry. There are 600 homeless children from the age of five to 19,” she said.
Finding the Solution
Alcaraz said the Heart of Illinois Harvest provides two important services that lead to the same goal: ending hunger. “First, we provide a pick-up service for our donors. We give area merchants an outlet for their unserved, unsold food. Then, under the guidelines of the Department of Public Health, Heart of Illinois Harvest distributes this nutritious food to shelter/care programs where hungry men, women, and children eat their meals or receive help.”
What makes this mission work is the dedication of the volunteers, more than 90 percent of whom pick up food at least once a week, according to Alcaraz. “When Heart of Illinois Harvest was first established, it was run solely by volunteers. These volunteers managed daily operation in their spare time and used their own vehicles for pick up and delivery. Today, we have two vehicles: a 1992 Chevy cargo can and a 1997 Ford truck. These vehicles were funded through grants from UPS and the Bielfeldt Foundation. We’ve also increased our number of volunteers from a handful to more than 60. We’ve definitely grown from our humble beginnings, but the need in this area has also grown. We’re still in need of more volunteers and food donors, as well as new vehicles.”
In fact, Alcaraz is the Heart of Illinois Harvest’s only employee. “With the help of the board and volunteers, we keep the organization running smoothly. My part in this consists of managing daily operations, which include volunteer coordination, food pick up and delivery, general accounting, and donor recipient relations. Some other aspects of my job are grant seeking and writing, media and advertising, and special event coordinating,” she said.
On-the-job rewards are delivered by the truckful, but so are challenges. “Some of the challenges we face are receiving enough food and monetary donations, locating volunteers, and community awareness,” she said.
Alcaraz said during the holiday season, Harvest tends to see an increase in the amount of food needed at its recipient organizations. “This is due, in part, to the holiday baskets that are distributed. We do our best to fill this need. At that time of year, there are a lot of people who feel compelled to help the needy; it’s important to realize the needs of these people aren’t just at the holidays, however.”
Alcaraz received three phone calls in mid-November from food pantries HOIH delivers to, each of them requesting more food. “On their scheduled pick up days, they had a standing-room-only crowd and ran out of food before all of the people requesting donations were served. They also told me they were receiving requests from people who hadn’t needed this support in the past. They felt this was due to layoffs and cutbacks in the job market. The demand for holiday food baskets increased considerably since last year,” she said.
A Continuing Effort
The work of Alcaraz and the HOIH volunteers doesn’t slow after the first of the year, however. “We’re out six days a week picking up and delivering food. Without this food, many of our recipient agencies would no longer be able to feed the people they currently feed. To continue operating in this way, we need community support. Volunteers are always needed—whether they can give one or two days a week or just one day per month.”
Alcaraz said monetary donations are also needed for the agency’s operational expenses. And the return on investment is impressive: each dollar donated provides 125 meals to local families and children in need. “We strive to keep our expenses at a bare minimum, but due to the increase in gasoline and auto insurance expenses, we’ve found ourselves in need of more monetary support. We’re a non-profit organization, and without monetary donations, HOIH would cease to exist,” she said.
Another key element in the hunger solution is the Heart of Illinois Harvest’s 140 food donors. “These donors are grocery stores, hotels, restaurants, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, day cares, churches, food distributors, food wholesalers, and bakeries. We pick up perishable and non-perishable food. The food picked up from restaurants, hospitals, bakeries, nursing homes, schools, hotels, day cares, and churches is generally perishable food, meaning it’s already cooked, contains meat products, or it’s fresh food that either needs to be served that day or frozen. There’s a great need for this food, and we need to increase the amount of donors that would be able to donate these types of foods,” she said.
Alcaraz said the agency works hard to ensure donating to Heart of Illinois Harvest is as convenient as possible. “We provide food safe bags and buckets and pick up whenever the food is available.”
The vast majority of the central Illinois community has responded wholeheartedly to the vision of the Heart of Illinois Harvest, Alcaraz said, though not all merchants are comfortable donating all types of food to the agency. “There are still some who worry about liability,” she explained.
This is one apprehension donors shouldn’t let affect their decision to participate in the program, she said, adding HOIH provides documented assurance to contributors. “In 1981, the Good Samaritan Food Donor Act was made into law. This act says all donors are exempt from liability connected to their food donation. We’ve compiled a packet that includes a copy of this act, a letter from the Peoria Health Department showing their support and stating there hasn’t been any food-borne illness associated with Heart of Illinois Harvest, as well as a sheet listing food donor opportunities. We would love to provide this packet to any interested merchants.”
The ultimate goal of Heart of Illinois Harvest is, of course, to end hunger in central Illinois. “Hunger is one of our community’s biggest problem, and we have a solution,” Alcaraz said. “Sixty tons of food per day goes to landfills, but it doesn’t have to be this way.” TPW