The "Second Helpings Program" has been a great success in the first twelve months of operation. The results in the first year have been 29 regular donors to date and 536,703 pounds of prepared and perishable food.

The grants to the Food Bank of the Albemarle are part of the "Kraft Foods Rescue Startup Initiative" under the Phillip Morris Fight Against Hunger campaign, a four-year, $100 million commitment ot alleviate hunger in America.

In cities throughout the U.S., surplus prepared food is available from hospitals, cafeterias, supermarkets, restaurants, and other sources.  By some estimates, several hunger million pounds of this food is wasted nationally every year.  Under the Kraft Foods Rescue Startup Initiative, the company is making grants to equip private-sector feeding programs across the country with the infrastructure to capture this large volute of food and redistribute it to the hungry.

We are very excited about the profess of the program to date.  The response from the community, both donors and recipients has been extremely positive.  We are now recovering and recycling food, such as meat, deli items, bread, and other prepared and perishable items on a daily basis that would normally be thrown away.

Their donation is picked up by our Food Bank staff, taken to our warehouse, and is immediately distributed to the agencies.  The Second Helpings Program is a great source of prepared and perishable food for the hungry men, women, and children in the 15 counties we server.   Donations are taken directly to these agencies and other soup kitchens, shelters, or other emergency feeding programs whenever possible.