Salinas, CA – The growers, processors and shippers of Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties were very generous again this year; donating over 13.9 million lbs of fresh nutritious produce to the local non-profit organization Ag Against Hunger. Every year, Ag Against Hunger strives to collect more surplus vegetables and fruit to give to as many food banks as possible. They beat the previous year’s record by almost two million pounds, and hope to do so again in 2012! Because of the substantial donations in 2011, Ag Against Hunger was able to add five new food banks to their distribution program. This resulted in helping to feed over 3 million people in California and across the West Coast.
Their recipients aren’t only the homeless, but also the working poor and middle class with day-to-day expenses that mean having to choose between paying rent or buying food. The populations ravaged by poverty and those who have to count on food banks most also have the fewest resources and tend to be populations hardest hit by chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity. The addition of fresh fruits and vegetables can help combat these diseases and end the pain of hunger.
Ag Against Hunger takes care of their local community first by insuring the Monterey County Food Bank, the Food Bank of San Benito County, the Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County and the California Grey Bears in Santa Cruz have all of the fresh produce they need to give to local hungry families, feeding over 158,500 people every year. Since its founding 22 years ago, Ag Against Hunger has distributed nearly 200 million pounds of produce — that’s almost one billion servings of fruits and vegetables to people in need! To learn more, visit www.agagainsthunger.org and become a fan on Facebook.
Source: Ag Against Hunger
