At this time of the year and especially during these challenging economic times, my sincerest thanks go to thousands of you who have provided support to help the less fortunate. In a recent nationwide study, Florida was named the nation’s most fiscally distressed State – what a dubious distinction. Central Florida is in the same boat so to speak.
Your support has taken the form of donated food, funds or your time as a volunteer or advocate. Because of your support, we remain strong in our mission of fighting hunger. We cannot accomplish this without you. You have decided to, as it is said, “light one candle rather than curse the darkness”. Some of you have lit many candles and we are very grateful.
Your support is humbling because I realize you trust us to do the absolute most with your gift. We will are committed to be the best possible steward of the community’s resources. Lately, we have communicated the message that every dollar donated to Second Harvest Food Bank enables us to distribute $9 worth of groceries. What a wonderful return on investment. Some people have questioned that claim – that’s a healthy thing to do! So how is that kind of return possible? It’s pretty simple math, really. The millions of pounds of grocery products we distribute each year have a value.
Last year, the retail value of those products exceeded $36 million. By contrast, it cost our organization just over $4 million in expenses to collect, store, and distribute those products to the community.
$4 million in expense to provide $36 million in value…a simple but powerful equation. The value divided by our cost to provide it yields the 1 to 9 return that we’re so proud to claim.
Naturally, part of being a good steward is to value transparency. Nowadays, there are too many stories of fraud and waste. In that spirit, I invite you to check out our organization by visiting one of the most reputable third-party source for rating charities – www.CharityNavigator.org. They have awarded us with their highest possible rating: Four Stars. An important part of their report shows that 97.1 cents of every dollar donated to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida goes directly to feeding people.
As we continue distribute food at disaster relief levels, we thank you for your critical support. You are making the difference in many people’s lives. Here’s to a hope filled 2009.
Dave Krepcho
President/CEO
