HICKMAN’S SERVES UP EGG DONATION TO FOOD BANKS IN FOUR WESTERN STATES; ST. MARY’S FOOD BANK ALLIANCE RECEIVES HUGE SHIPMENT ON MARCH 23 and 24

Leading up to the Easter holiday, food banks across the state as well as in Hawaii, Nevada and Colorado will be receiving approximately 700,000 eggs from Hickman’s Family Farms – Arizona’s only commercial egg producer. The donation is a long-time Hickman’s family tradition before Easter and has been part of United Egg Producers contribution to Feeding America’s national campaign for the past three years.

St. Mary’s Food Bank will receive 11 pallets of delicious Hickman’s eggs at the main warehouse (2831 N. 31st Avenue) on Tuesday, March 23 at 9 a.m. Another four pallets of eggs will be delivered to St. Mary’s Flagstaff facility on March 24 at 11 a.m. The eggs will be enthusiastically received by the 500 agency partners served by St. Mary’s at over 700 locations statewide.

“We have decades of making egg deliveries to food banks at Easter time, but the official standardized program with United Egg Producers began three years ago,” said Clint Hickman, vice president of sales and marketing for Hickman’s. “Our average donation at Easter is around 700,000 eggs — and year round to different organizations combined is approximately one million eggs.”

The donation will provide food-insecure people with much needed high-quality protein, which helps kids and adults build muscle strength, helps older adults prevent muscle loss, and may also promote weight management.

DON’T FORGET: Flagstaff Old-Fashioned Mountain Bike Race on August 22

The hills and trails of Northern Arizona are known as both a haven and worthy challenge for mountain bikers everywhere. And Flagstaff will be the site on August 22nd for the Eighth Annual Absolute Bikes/St. Mary’s Food Bank – Flagstaff Old-Fashioned Mountain Bike Race. Always a popular event, the 10-mile course is 65 percent single-track and 35 percent dirt road, climbing over 800 feet during each lap. The race begins at 9 a.m. and is limited to the first 300 entrants. There are men’s and women’s divisions in Expert/Pro and Single-speed (three laps), Sport and Beginner levels. In addition to the main event, there is also a children’s race immediately following the adult event. The entry fee includes five tickets in a raffle for prizes, highlighted by a Specialized 2009 Stumpjumper FSR Pro M5 bike frame.

Register on-line at www.absolutebikes.net. Proceeds from all aspects of the event will benefit the Food Bank. Prizes include trophies for the top three places in each category and gift certificates to Absolute Bikes.

St. Mary’s to assist Yavapai Food Bank

Prescott Valley Tribune
By Cheryl Hartz
Reporter

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Three weeks ago, Yavapai Food Bank Director Ann Wilson prayed for help to fill the empty shelves. The media and community responded and the food bank didn’t have to turn away hungry people.

But this past week, her prayers were answered in an even bigger way.

“As soon as we were alerted there was another food bank in trouble, we set a plan in motion,” said Jerry Brown, community relationship specialist for St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance in Phoenix.

St. Mary’s, the world’s first and largest food bank, committed to sending a 48-foot tractor trailer load of food once a week. That translates to about 30 pallets of food weekly, including produce, non-perishables, breads and pastries, according to Brown.

“We’ll start with this and see if that gets it done,” Brown said.

John van Hengel founded St. Mary’s Food Bank in 1967. While collecting donations for the St. Vincent de Paul community dining room, he learned about the food grocery stores threw away if the packages were damaged or near expiration dates. He persuaded store managers to donate this unsellable but still edible food to St. Vincent de Paul. When the dining room received more food than it could use, the food bank concept emerged. Van Hengel approached St. Mary’s Basilica as a central location.

The first year, some 250,000 pounds of food went to 36 local agencies. In the past year, St. Mary’s distributed 67.7 million pounds in 13 of Arizona’s 15 counties. It merged with Westside Food Bank in 2005, and with its vision to spread further into northern Arizona, St. Mary’s recently opened a new location in Flagstaff at what used to be the Care and Share, Brown said.

The weekly truckloads to YFB will come from Flagstaff, he said, and should “take care of needs for two to three days” each time.

YFB Director Ann Wilson was thrilled to get the news. Although the community responded strongly to her plea, the need is never-ending, as several other area banks depend upon YFB for their food supplies.

“We need food to continue to come in,” Wilson said. “These are the hardest months, at least through December, when holiday drives are in force. But the public’s response has been tremendous. (In addition to local help) I can’t believe how many checks we got in from the Phoenix area.”

The first truck arrives this morning.

“St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance is more than happy to help out a sister food bank,” Brown said.

For more information on Yavapai Food Bank, call 928-775-5255. To learn more about St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliahttp://www.firstfoodbank.org or call 602-352-3640.