Picnic in the Park, our free summer lunch program, is serving more children than ever. But we are also seeing the impact of the economic downturn that has hurt so many families. That is why your continued generosity, and the generosity of the donors highlighted in this newsletter, is so important. We can't thank you enough. This is the July edition of Idaho Foodbytes, The Idaho Foodbank's electronic newsletter, Volume VII, Number 7. -- David Proctor July Contents 1. Picnic in the Park Numbers Up By 36% in First Month 2. Top 10 Food Drives for the First Quarter 3. Donors’ Corner: MAZON, D.A. Davidson and The Feinstein Foundation 4. April Food Stamp Use is Second Highest in Program History 5. Washington Governor Helps Families and Food Banks 6. Update: "Donate My Weight" Campaign Gains Momentum 7. An Easy Way to Help 8. Your Next Phone Could Benefit the Foodbank 9. Letter to the Foodbank 10. Gallery of Giving: Boise Blues Society 11. Fact of the Month: Food Supply Down 12. Quote of the Month: Eleanor Roosevelt 13. The Foodbank's 2008 Calendar

Donors’ Corner MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger has again agreed to assist The Idaho Foodbank in the fight to end hunger in Idaho with a generous grant of $15,000 to support our general operations. MAZON, which is the Hebrew word for food, nourishment or sustenance, is one of the largest privately supported philanthropic organizations addressing hunger in America. MAZON operates solely on donations from American Jews who contribute 3% of the cost of their simchas or lifecycle celebrations such as bar/bat mitzvahs and weddings. Since 1986, MAZON has awarded grants totaling over $47 million to emergency feeding programs, food banks, anti-hunger advocacy groups, multi-service organizations offering food, shelter and counseling, as well as small-scale hunger relief and development projects in Israel and poor countries. Our thanks again to Grants Director Mia Hubbard and President H. Eric Schockman. www.mazon.org D.A. Davidson & Co. has awarded The Idaho Foodbank a $5,000 grant in honor of Chairman Ian B. Davidson's 50 years of service to the company. D.A. Davidson & Co. has offices in seven Idaho cities. www.dadavidson.com The Feinstein Foundation has awarded the Foodbank $3,670 as its portion of the foundation’s annual $1 Million Giveaway to Fight Hunger. The amount of the grant is based on the amount of money raised in Idaho as part of this drive. The higher the amount, the larger the portion of the $1 million that is donated to each participating non-profit. This year was the most successful Giveaway ever. Across the country, 1,700 participating anti-hunger groups raised $174 million in mathing funds. www.feinsteinfoundation.org The Fred Meyer Fund has donated $10,000 for the BackPack for Kids program at our Pocatello facility. The BackPack program fills hungry students' backpacks with food every school weekend to ensure they will be nourished until they get back to school the next Monday. Our grateful thanks these four generous organizations. You can join these munificent donors with a gift of any size. Just click here for our secure donation page...

Hunger in the News April Food Stamp Use is Second Highest in Program History In April 2008, national food stamp participation reached 28,063,229 people, an increase of 184,241 from March and up from the prior April by 1,781,696 people. According to the Food Research and Action Center’s analysis, the April 2008 participation totals are exceeded by only one month in the program’s history – the 29.8 million recipients in November 2005, which was a temporary spike following hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Prior to November 2005, the highest month was March 1994, when there were a record 27.9 million recipients. Most recently, the weak economy and food price inflation are taking a toll on low-income households. The purchasing power of food stamp allotments is not keeping pace with food inflation, said the FRAC analysis. For May 2008, FRAC estimated, the maximum food stamp allotment for a family of four was 7% or over $40 short of the amount the government estimates is needed to purchase even the minimally adequate diet outlined in the Thrifty Food Plan market basket. The Congressional Budget Office expects the Food Stamp Program growth to continue. It predicts the FY 2009 monthly caseload will average 28 million Americans. For more information on the Food Stamp report, just click here...

Washington Governor Helps Families and Food Banks In neighboring Washington, Gov. Christine Gregoire has announced several steps to help families and service providers struggling with rising food and energy prices. Starting October 1, the state will use Categorical Eligibility options under federal law to set food stamp eligibility at up to 200 percent of the poverty line. This will allow an estimated 23,000 more people to have access to food stamps. The governor has also immediately allocated $200,000 from her emergency fund to help food banks around the state pay for gasoline. See the original newspaper article right here...

Update: "Donate My Weight" Campaign Gains Momentum Editor's Note: You may remember Ben Miller's story from the April edition of Idaho Foodbytes. Ben’s difficulties with panic attacks and depression led him to try and manage his life with alcohol and food. Ultimately, this Navy veteran hit a high – or low – of 460 pounds. Marriage and good medical care got him back on track, and he decided he was not only going to lose the weight, he was also going to create a campaign to spur donations to local food banks. He donates a pound to his food bank in Pennsylvania for every pound he loses, and his Donate My Weight campaign urges others to join him and make their own donations. At right is a photo of Ben at 404 pounds. Here is an email Ben sent recently to keep his supporters up to date: I hope this message finds you well and your respective Food Banks fare ok through this tough Summer. I had the occasion to volunteer in a neighborhood food bank last week and I saw for myself just how high the need is during this time of year. For those that don't know me, my name is Ben Miller, and I am the creator of the Donate My Weight campaign that pairs weight loss with raising donations for food banks all over America. Everything started on the premise that I wanted to lose 230 lbs and for every lb I lost, I pledged to donate a lb of food to my local food bank, Second Harvest of the Lehigh Valley. That was in January of 2008, and things have really taken off. Since then, I've been able to raise over 50,000 lbs of food through the generosity of people around the country and companies like Wegmans grocery stores. 100% of all food and money donated goes directly to the food banks and is sent by the people making the donations. The great thing for food banks is that I am the one pushing the campaign and the food banks don't have to do anything to benefit from it. Of course, the more people you tell about Donate My Weight, the better the chance of increasing donations. But even if you do nothing, if someone lives in your area and wants to help, you'll receive the donation. Aside from donations, I've also lost a total of 93 lbs in the past 6 months and I am looking forward to meeting my half-way mark shortly! Each time I hit one of my goals, more news stories are done and it raises a lot of awareness about the hunger problem. The media attention has been great and I found that with each new story, came more support for my campaign and more donations for food banks. Keeping that in mind, I am continuing to talk with different media outlets around the country and I am hoping I can do even better for all of you in the way of donations. I really feel like that big break for the campaign is right around the corner, where thousands more people will learn about what I'm trying to do. I don't quite know how to make it happen, but please know that I am trying my best to get the word out and increase donations. I'd love to see that 50,000 lbs of food turn into 500,000 lbs of food donated to all your food banks. Please keep me in your prayers and continue to let your friends, family and business associates know about Donate My Weight. If you haven't seen the website I created for the campaign, check it out at www.DonateMyWeight.com Thank you very much for all your support! BEN MILLER Donate My Weight www.donatemyweight.com You can go to Ben's web site (above), or you can see his new video with a click right here...

Use Your Facebook or MySpace Page An Easy Way to Help Do you have a MySpace or Facebook page? If so, there is an easy way for you to help spread the word about the fight against hunger in Idaho. Just add us to your profile, and let your friends know that they can help, too. You can link them to our web site, www.idahofoodbank.org, and if they want to see a short video they can check us out on YouTube at http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Fua15-Nz5KA. Together we can really make a difference. Thank you. Here is an easy link to the YouTube video...

Your Next Phone Could Benefit the Foodbank If you are looking for your next cell phone, The Idaho Foodbank and PhonesForGood.com have teamed up to offer you a way to save money and benefit the Foodbank. PhonesForGood.com is an online cell phone retailer that partners with non-profits to help them raise money. The company offers a complete selection of new phones at discount prices, and many are free with the purchase of a calling plan. As a Foodbank supporter, you can get a good deal on your next cell phone purchase, and for every phone and plan purchased through the PhonesForGood.com web site, the company will donate $40-$50 toward the fight against hunger. The company offers phones from AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, Nextel and T-Mobile. The web site is easy to navigate and lists prices so you can compare them to your present service. Just remember to select The Idaho Foodbank as your organization of choice. And thank you in advance. Just click here to check out the cell phone bargains...

Letter to the Foodbank June 25, 2008 The Idaho Foodbank 3562 S. TK Ave Boise, ID 82705 Please accept the enclosed donation in memory of our Mother, Laburma Rong, who passed away on July 11, 2008. Having gone hungry many times in her early years, Mother was always concerned about others going without food. When we received cash memorials at her funeral service, it was an easy decision for my sisters and me to contribute the money to your organization. Our Mother would have approved. God bless you in all the work that you do. Sincerely, Mamie (Mame) Were If you would like to remember a loved one with a donation, just click here...

Fact of the Month At the Foodbank, we ended our most recent fiscal year with 559,642 pounds of food on hand in our Boise warehouse. One year earlier we ended the fiscal year with 800,821 pounds of food on hand. The year before that we ended with 1,281,648 pounds of food on hand. That means on-hand food supplies at the end of FY 07 were down 38% and at the end of FY 08 were down another 30%. You make what we do possible. And we hope you will continue to help feed hungry families. Just click here to start the process...

Quote of the Month "Our own successes, to be real, must contribute to the success of others." Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, early civil rights advocate, delegate to the UN General Assembly from 1945 and 1952, chaired President John F. Kennedy's commission on the Status of Women. President Truman called her the "First Lady of the World" in tribute to her human rights achievements. Care to lend a hand in the battle against hunger? Here's the link to our volunteer page...

The Foodbank's 2008 Calendar June 6 – August 22 – Picnic in the Park. Free lunches in Boise city parks for children ages 1-18. Call Vonda Pattee, 336-9643, ext. 260 or www.idahofoodbank.org/picnic-in-the-park.htm. Boise June 6 – August 22 – Picnic in the Park. Free lunches in Storey Park in Meridian for children ages 1-18. Call Vonda Pattee, 336-9643, ext. 260 or www.idahofoodbank.org/picnic-in-the-park.htm. Meridian June 9 – July 31 - Picnic in the Park. Free lunches for children 1-18 at the Nampa Boys and Girls Club, 316 Stampede Dr. Call Vonda Pattee, 336-9643, ext. 260 or www.idahofoodbank.org/picnic-in-the-park.htm. Nampa July - Warhawk Air Museum will offer 10% all gift store items for a donation of five cans of food. Call 465-6446. Nampa July - Ameri-Serv will take $5 off its $90 air conditioning maintenance service for each food item donated, up to six items. Save up to $30 for six items of non-perishable food. Ada County call 342-4328; Canyon County call 467-2665. August 1 - August 31 - Foodbank's annual Business to Business Food Drive. Contact Julie Rudolph, 336-9643, ext. 257. Boise August 1 - DJ Dan and Donald Glaude: The Instereo Tour 2x4 Tour, bringing together two of America's biggest DJ's in a unique live experience. At the Mardi Gras, 615 S 9th St., 9 pm to 3 am. Admission is $25; tickets at the Record Exchange. Age 18 and up with ID. Half of the water and Red Bull sales will benefit the Foodbank. 440-2575. Boise. August 8 - Movies on the Wall. Groundhog Day. Free family films projected onto the back of the Main Street Lighting building on F St. A portion of the donations and concession income will benefit the Foodbank. Movies start at dusk. Lewiston August 15 - Movies on the Wall. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Free family films projected onto the back of the Main Street Lighting building on F St. A portion of the donations and concession income will benefit the Foodbank. Movies start at dusk. Lewiston August 21 - Movies on the Wall. Tucker: The Man and His Dream. Free family films projected onto the back of the Main Street Lighting building on F St. A portion of the donations and concession income will benefit the Foodbank. Movies start at dusk. Lewiston September - Hunger Awareness Month. Statewide September 8-14 – Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft. The 72-hole golf tournament and associated activities are set for Sept. 8-14 at Hillcrest Country Club. Ticket sales can benefit the Foodbank. http://www.albertsonsboiseopen.com/tickets/tickets.php Boise October 9 - The Mayor's Award for the Arts at The Idaho Foodbank. 233-8811. Pocatello October 10 - Idaho Summit on Hunger and Food Insecurity. 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m., Doubletree Riverside. Speakers include Eric Steiner (USDA) and Jim Weil (FRAC). Information: 211 (Idaho CareLine) or www.idahohungersummit.org. Garden City Your time and skills are like gold to us. Please volunteer now. Click here for information...

Thank you for supporting The Idaho Foodbank in the fight against hunger. Idaho is the 13th hungriest state as measured by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Your donations of time, food and cash meant that with the help of more than 200 partner agencies your Foodbank could distribute 5.25 million pounds of badly needed food to Idaho families in 2007 and 65 million pounds since 1984.

Sincerely,
The Team at The Idaho Foodbank