Hotline connects Arizonans to food bank resources

Many Arizona families are struggling with unemployment, new found poverty and an uncertain economy.

Those families may need to turn to food banks for help, but if they have never used their services they may not know where to turn.

That’s why the Association of Arizona Food Banks has set up a hotline to help connect people with a food bank near their home.

The Association is a private, non-profit organization serving five regional food banks — Community Food Bank, Desert Mission Food Bank, St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance, United Food Bank, Yuma Community Food Bank — and a network of 1,700 food pantries and agencies.

It is critical that individuals and families have a way to connect with food bank resources and help is just a phone call away.

The hotline number is 1-800-445-1914 or visit the Association of Arizona Food Banks for more information.

Local Hair Stylist To “Cut Out Hunger” on June 23

In his own personal attempt to “Cut Out Hunger,” popular Valley hair stylist Salvador Calvano will be donating 100 percent of his day’s proceeds and gratuities to benefit St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance on Tuesday, June 23 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Calvano has honed his skills in fashion hot spots like Miami, Paris, Los Angeles, and New York City and has applied his craft to the world of high fashion, trendsetters, designers and supermodels, runway shows, celebrities, rock stars and world-class photographers.
For more information, log on to Salvador Calvano’s website, www.hairpeace.com, or Erin Neathery at erin@luckydogcreative.com.

Fry’s “Pitch In” Food Drive Benefits Local Food Banks

Fry’s Food Stores is making it easy to help St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance and other food banks in Arizona this summer with an in-store food drive.

From now until July 7, stop into any Fry’s and donate your non-perishable food items at conveniently placed drop-off boxes at the front of the store. Watch for the extra savings in the weekly fliers that will allow you to pick up an extra item or two to drop in the box while shopping the great deals.

For more information, log on to www.frysfood.com or stop into any Fry’s Food Store.

Wells Fargo Helps Replenish St. Mary’s Summer Shelves

Wells Fargo will kick off their annual state-wide food drive on June 1, with the goal of helping agencies like St. Mary’s Food Banks replenish their shelves during the traditionally challenging summer months.

From June 1-15, the public is encouraged to drop off any non-perishable, non-glass food items at any Wells Fargo or Wachovia bank branch in the state. Cereals, peanut butter, canned meats, beans and rice/pasta are especially suggested in addition to peanut butter and canned fruits, vegetables and milk.

Last year’s drive collected 58 tons of food for non-profit agencies around the state, and Wells Fargo is hoping to top that total this year.

For more information, stop into any Wells Fargo or Wachovia branch.

St. Mary’s Receives Generous Donations from Scottsdale Insurance

Scottsdale Insurance Company has adopted St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance as their charity of choice in 2009 and kicked off their relationship in a big way with donations of cash and food this spring.
During a recent company-wide food drive, employees collected 9,975 pounds of food for the Food Bank and an additional $1,800 in cash. That will allow St. Mary’s to provide more than 22,000 meals as we head into the summer months when demand remains overwhelming and maintaining pace becomes more challenging.

And as if that wasn’t enough, Scottsdale Insurance Company also made an initial grant of $20,000 to St. Mary’s just prior to their May food drive, bringing the number of meals provided through their work to over 162,000 – with more events planned on the horizon!

St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance wishes to thank our new friends at Scottsdale Insurance Company for their generous donation and assistance in feeding the hungry in their community.

Woman gives grocery spree to food bank

Eleven families struggling to put food on the table have received a helping hand from a west Phoenix jewelry-store owner who shared her lucky break.

Carol Chappell won a five-minute shopping spree from the Safeway grocery store at Thunderbird Road and 58th Avenue in Glendale after entering $40 in a raffle for children’s charities.

Chappell decided to go one step further. She chose to pile her shopping cart with food to donate to the nearby Society of St. Vincent de Paul food bank.

To read more on this great story visit:
http://www.azcentral.com

State Farm Employees Team Up to Help St. Mary’s

State Farm Insurance’s Salt River Agency Representatives stepped up to the plate and hit a home run against hunger for St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance during their recently-completed spring promotion.

Donating their personal commissions to help those in need in their community, the agents raised enough to provide more than 17,500 meals through the Food Bank to help out during a critical economic juncture.

State Farm made their official presentation to St. Mary’s Business Development Officer Christina Calio prior to a recent Chicago Cubs-Arizona Diamondbacks game at Chase Field, before those who worked hard on the effort were able to enjoy the game.

Special thanks to Agency Field Executive Kathey Wagner for putting together a big league lineup of employees willing to help. Like a good neighbor … State Farm is there for the Food Bank.

Justin Wong to Compete For Charity at E3 Convention in June

Tempe, Arizona (PRWEB) May 18, 2009 — As part of his attempt to set the world record for longest win streak, pro-gamer, Justin Wong and Xbox 360 modded controller creators, Evil Controllers will be holding a canned food drive and raffle at the 2009 E3 convention June 2rd through 4th at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, CA.

“The premise behind the food drive is simple,” says Evil Controller’s Director of Operations, Jonah Coe, “When we realized how many people were expected to attend E3 this year, Justin and I saw this as the perfect opportunity for Evil to do some good in the world.”

Wong will begin entertaining challengers at the Evil Controllers booth on Tuesday morning and will continue playing until the convention starts to wind down on Thursday. For each person who challenges Wong, Evil Controllers has promised to donate 1 can of food to the Saint Mary’s Food Bank Alliance. If a contestant manages to do the unthinkable and beats Wong, Evil will donate 10 cans.

In an attempt to sweeten the deal, Evil has made it free to play, and all contestants will be entered into a raffle drawing to win a Red Elite Xbox 360. The drawing will be held at the Evil Controllers booth at 3:00 pm on Thursday June 5th, the final day of the E3 convention.

A stop by Evil’s booth not only offers visitors face time with one of pro gaming’s fastest rising stars; it will also give them hands on experience with Evil’s newest innovation: the Evil Sticks. The recently introduced ergonomic xbox 360 thumbsticks are already gaining praise from pro gaming’s elite. WGC Ultimate Gamer, Prodigy X says “Precision and Accuracy of this level will make any game better.”

Evil will also be showing off a wide variety of its custom controllers at the convention in Los Angeles this summer. For more information on Evil’s product line and what to expect from them at E3, visit www.evilcontrollers.com.

ABOUT EVIL CONTROLLERS – Evil Controllers is a Tempe, Arizona-based company that specializes in custom modded Xbox 360 controllers designed to enhance game play for a variety of different game genres.

Evil Controller LLC develops modded controllers whose aim is to mitigate a player’s physical limitations while gaming. Through innovative design and ergonomic upgrades tailored for specific types of games,

Evil provides gamers with custom controllers that best fit their needs.

TOMORROW Saturday, May 9 Stamp Out Hunger in your area!

Remember to participate on Saturday, May 9 in one of the nation’s largest food drives by placing non-perishable food – including soups, stews, juices, peanut butter, beans and tuna, but please, nothing in glass containers – in a grocery sack next to your mailbox on this day. Your letter carrier will pick it up and the food will directly benefit St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance.

http://www.helpstampouthunger.com/

Michelle Obama volunteers at DC food bank

WASHINGTON (AP) — First Lady Michelle Obama is making good on her promise to actively volunteer in the Washington area, bagging food for hungry children at a local food bank on her husband’s 100th day in office.

Mrs. Obama and Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, joined more than 100 congressional spouses at the Capital Area Food Bank on Wednesday, passing out packages of wheat pasta and cans of pineapple as volunteers bagged 2,000 meals for low-income kids in the area.

This is the second time the first lady has volunteered for the hungry in the District of Columbia. In March, she served lunch to the homeless at a soup kitchen.

The event was sponsored by the food bank and Feeding America, a hunger relief group.

By MARY CLARE JALONICK

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5igDOKmv4O7OVfRr43JBsZ6TQifdQD97SAKHO2