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While most of you spent your post Christmas-Festivus-Hanukkah-holiday storing away fuzzy decorations or tyring to restore your belief that your children are the moons to your tides, Emergency Food Network Director Helen McGovern crunched numbers. From her Lakewood office, she threw some additional coal on the fire and compared this past year's bounty to 2010. Here is what she discovered:
In 2011, area food programs distributed 19,396,885 pounds of food, which equates to 15,517,664 meals - more than 1 million more meals than 2010.
Emergency Food Network provides 80 percent of Pierce County's emergency food. EFN distributes nutritious, staple food to 67 food banks, shelters, and hot meal sites in Pierce County.
Area food programs see an average of 147,000 visitors each month.
Demand for emergency food in our community increased 43 percent from 2008 to 2010, and then grew an additional 6 percent in 2011.
Total visits to food banks, meal sites and shelters topped 1,285,000 visits, an increase of 74,000 over 2010.
In 2011, the Gottfried and Mary Fuchs foundation contributed $100,000 to help EFN purchase food.
The Gary E. Milgard Foundation granted EFN $75,000 to support warehouse operations
Washington Women's Foundation contributed $50,000 towards food purchase.
EFN's Abundance charity auction raised mor ethan $200,000 for the organization
Pierce County Hunger Walk raised an additional $130,000.
EFN received $100,000 from the Murdoch Charitable Trust to help replace its roof, along with $50,000 from the Puyallup Tribe and $50,000 from an anonymous donor to help with roof construction.
EFN also receives funding totaling more than $400,000 from the federal government, the State of Washington, the City of Tacoma, the City of Lakewood and Pierce County.
Widows of the four fallen officers in Lakewood worked with the Lakewood Police Department to raise more than $40,000 and more than 40,000 pounds of food during the 2nd annual Fallen Officers Food Drive.
Emergency Food Network received other gifts around the holidays, including $25,000 from the Walmart Foundation, $10,000 from the Safeco Insurance Foundation and $5,000 from the William Kilworth Foundation.
EFN also received $10,000 from the Hendrix Foundation and $5,000 from Quadrant Homes for Mother Earth Farm.
For information about the Emergency Food Network, to donate, or to learn about volunteer opportunities, visit www.efoodnet.org.
Nice work Helen.
LINK: Hey! Didn't she ...