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Marissa Hushaw came on board with Grind Out Hunger about 4 months ago with a $1000 goal set in mind. She wanted to hit that goal by the end of her snowboarding season…well the end of the season is here and we are all proud to say that she passed her goal and has raised $3907.
That amount of cash converts to 15,628 meals.

Through her snowboarding and consistent advocacy of the Grind Out Hunger program and mission, Marissa has changed the lives of many, not only the lives of those who need food, but those who have been looking for a way to help their community. Marissa has infected the lives of many of the youth, giving them a sense of purpose and introducing them to the world of philanthropy and giving. We look forward to having Marissa on our team as a Hunger Fighter through the Summer months as she launches her Summer Grind Out Hunger Campaign.

“Wow where do I start? This season has been freaking amazing. From the hiking to secret early pow stashes, to ending my season shredding the hill ALONE with Andy Finch and some cameras. Riding with Andy was amazing. We got on the hill by snowcat before it opened and shredded everything! We even did some rock drops! He’s crazy and I’m stoked to have ridden with him. That was a huge highlight of my season, but my favorite part had to be the turnout at my Grind Out Hunger Rail Jam!!! All the support I got this season from friends family and people I didn’t even know until now. My Winter goal of raising $1,000 Was obliterated within the first month. It ended with nearly $4,000!!! How rad is that!? Unfortunately now that the Winter has melted away (until i head on up to High Cascade Snowboard Camp in Oregon this Summer) I have to move back into my surfing, skating, wakeboarding, rock climbing, and mountain biking mode! Which means a NEW summer goal. Since my last goal was finished within a month… Let’s raise it to $2,000! I want to see how quickly we can blow up that goal and how many kids we can feed. So from now until the end of august, let’s CRUSH my new goal and GRIND OUT HUNGER.”

~ Marissa Hushaw, Hunger Fighter

Marissa’s 2012 Summer Campaign has officially launched.  Head over to http://thefoodbank.givezooks.com/campaigns/marissa-hushaw-grind-out-hunger-summer to donate today.
Keep an eye out for updates on Marissa’s Summer adventures. We will be lining up some summer events to benefit her new campaign as well as releasing new product to purchase. Together we can Grind Out Hunger.

Marissa Hushaw and Andy Finch wearing Grind Out Hunger wristbands.

Marissa would like to express her thanks to EVERYONE that has supported her and her Grind Out Hunger campaign. Whether it was a monetary donation, or just repping the cause by wearing her wristband. Every little bit has helped in the movement against childhood hunger.

She would like to thank her current sponsors; Santa Cruz Snowboards, Giro, and of course her home mountain, China Peak Mountain Resort.

She has also gotten a great deal of support through the Grind Out Hunger sponsor channels and she would like thank each one of them…
• Jimbo Phillips Graphix
• Pono hawaiian Grill
• Jay Moriarity Foundation
• The Go Big Project
• Specialized Helicopters
• Whole Foods
• 102.5 KDON
• Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop
• 3D Construction
• and of course, Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County

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Chris Rene with all the youth Hunger Fighters. #lovelife

With support from the SODEXO foundation, Youth Service America, and Disney Friends for Change, Zane Keith and Marissa Hushaw’s Grind Out Hunger Youth Service Day was nothing short of spectacular.

Hunger Fighters Marissa Hushaw and Zane Keith with Award Winning film maker, Rocky Romano of The Go Big Project.

Film Maker, Rocky Romano and The Go Big Project had a full film crew at the event, documenting, interviewing, and more. The Go Big Project will be whipping up an incredible recap of the day. We had delicious catered food provided by Pono Hawaiian Grill (Mahalo Bruddah Timmy!). Families, friends, kids, celebrities, musicians, athletes and more all showed up to support the cause and the event. The energy throughout the day was inspiring. It was a day of kids helping kids fight hunger…

We had a full crew of helpers that worked from setup to breakdown. From merchandise tables to interacting with people and educating them about Grind Out Hunger. We couldn’t have done it without the help from our youth/student hunger fighters; Connor Luther (Connor Luther Photography), Caleb Luther, Kalil Mitchell, Felicia Mitchell, Ari Doggett, Dylan Morrish, Joycelynn Marie, Ashley Epis, Iggy LaMacchia…and all the other helpers that showed up!

Kalil, Felicia, and Caleb helping out at the Grind Out Hunger merch table.

People began to arrive for the event at about noon. Our skate ramps in the back officially opened and the party got started. Musician, Tess Dunn showed up to perform. She played an amazing set with her mighty sidekick Austin Corona (Blue Weekend), who usually plays guitar, but busted out the drum set for this one. Killer!  What can we say about Tess Dunn… What a rockstar…110% supportive of Grind Out Hunger and someone that we want to work with for a very long time. This was her first event performing for us and she told us that she had a BLAST. The energy, the community, and the cause are all something she wants to be a part of. We have a feeling this wont be the last time the lovely Tess Dunn performs for Grind Out Hunger… Tess recently released a new album, “Honesty Box“, head over to iTunes and take a listen. Check out her Facebook fan page here for more information about her music… www.facebook.com/tessdunnmusic 

Tess Dunn and Austin Corona. Killer performance.

Hunger Fighters, Zane Keith and Marissa Hushaw were in the building. Zane, promoting his skate campaign, shredded the back skate ramps for all of the groms and adults. He took the mic and explained to people “fighting hunger can be fun when incorporating skateboarding. All you have to do is spread the word and encourage people to help their community. It all starts with awareness.” Zane offers skate lessons to kids with a portion of the fee being donated to Grind Out Hunger.

Marissa, our snowboarder hunger fighter, got a large group of her school and snowboarding friends to show up to the event. She has these friends enlisted under her “Hunger Fighter Army” that she is rapidly creating in effort to eradicate childhood hunger. Dedicated to her sport and the cause, Marissa thanked everyone for showing up to help feed kids. She knows that no one should go hungry, and that she, along with her army, can be part of the solution to that problem.

Hunger Fighters Marissa Hushaw and Zane Keith with Grind Out hunger founder, Danny Keith.

Big wave surfer Nic Lamb dropped in for a surprise visit and quickly donned a new Grind Out Hunger Surf Hoodie. Representing the cause, Nic Lamb is looking to take his involvement to the next level by using his surfing talent to feed kids within his community. Nic Lamb is our next Hunger Fighter Athlete in surf.

Kimberly Moriarity of the Jay Moriarity Foundation with the next Hunger Fighter Athlete, Nic Lamb.

About an hour into the event Sam Diggedy and Domingo Rivera of 102.5 KDON The Morning Madhouse walked through the door. Alongside them none other than special guest, Royalty the King. Royalty, known for his hit song “Brown Eyed Girl” heard about the event and wanted to check it out to see if he could get involved with the cause….Sam Diggedy (Director of Music for Grind Out Hunger) has recruited Royalty to be our next musician Hunger Fighter, look for his page and wristbands soon.

Marissa Hushaw, Royalty the King, Sam Diggedy, and Zane Keith.

Shortly after, we were blessed with another big surprise as local music celebrity Chris Rene entered the building. Chris Rene, an X-Factor USA finalist, is a Santa Cruz local know for the recent release of his song “Young Homie” (Find in iTunes store here), the first single from the 29-year-old singer/songwriter’s forthcoming ‘major label’ debut album due in stores later in 2012 via Epic Records. Chris came to check out the Grind Out Hunger hype that has been going on and show his support for a local charity started by members of his community. He grabbed a Grind Out Hunger music hoodie put it on and stood in for a few photos with fans, fellow supporters and the youth hunger fighters. Big thanks to Chris Rene for coming out to support this event, he is doing good things, spreading positivity throughout the community with his music. Grind Out Hunger supports Chris Rene and all of the work that he is doing.

Chris Rene shaking Danny Keith's hand. Thanks for the support, Chris.

Chris Rene signed a large Love Life poster for Grind Out Hunger

Chris Rene supporting Grind Out Hunger

Our second musical performer was Jackie Roxx of Jackie Rocks Band and Dressed in Roses. She played an acoustic set alongside her sister who is also a member of the band Dressed in Roses. Jackie Rocks Band is described as melodic and upbeat, yet aggressive and heavy. A wide variety of comparisons have been made from Pat Benatar, Joan Jett, The Donnas, Poison, Soundgarden, to My Chemical Romance, AFI, and Cheap Trick. We were very fortunate to be able to have her at the event and perform. We talked with her afterwards about lining up some future shows for Grind Out Hunger. Find out more about her music on her band’s facebook page: www.facebook.com/Jackierocksband And take a listen to come of her music on iTunes here. 

Jackie Roxx and her sister Maddie performing.

By the end of the event we ended up raising 5,830 meals for kids in need. Made a bunch of smiles happen and spread the Disney cheer making Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop the happiest place on earth for the day.

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With the release of our 4 new Grind Out Hunger Logos drawn and designed by Jimbo Phillips Graphix, we have been being asked about the release of clothing;
“I want a shirt with that logo on it!”,
“Are you guys going to make hoodies? I want to represent this!”,
“If you guys had tees id rock one during once of our music shows!“,
the list goes on and on….

Well, friends, our very first run of Grind Out Hunger Clothing has arrived thanks to Cadillac Designs. Now you can represent your sport/music while supporting the cause. You choose; SKATE, SURF, SNOW, or MUSIC… How are YOU going to help fight hunger?

We printed a limited amount, so you better get yours NOW…

Here is the breakdown:

All Logos. Black With White Ink. Mens sizes only (for now). S-XL.
Proceeds Benefit Grind Out Hunger.

• Grind Out Hunger Tees: $19.95 each = 80 Meals/60 Pounds •

• Grind Out Hunger Hoodies: $49.95 each = 200 Meals/150 Pounds •

So, how do you get your hands on theses???

1. Order online through our ONLINE STORE and have us ship it to you…

2. Order online through our ONLINE STORE and pick up at Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop…
(you will have the option of being refunded your shipping cost at time of pick-up)

3. Pick one up at Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop
912 41st Ave, Santa Cruz, CA. 95062

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LIMITED ENTRANCE.
MAKE SURE YOU GET IN.
BUY A TICKET IN ADVANCE.

http://www.gohredballoonpartyapril.eventbrite.com/

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Its been a crazy week at Grind Out Hunger Headquarters. We teamed up with a good friend of ours, Connor Luther, and shot some video of community members that are doing their part in the fight against hunger. Last Friday we woke up at 5am and cruised over to Salinas to join the 102.5 KDON Morning Madhouse in their studio. We were given the opportunity to film them talking about why they work so closely with Grind Out Hunger. These guys have shown up at food drives to hang out, they have given Grind Out Hunger air time and support everything that we do.

As you all can imagine, it was a crazy morning! Those guys are ridiculous.  45 minutes of filming…for a 30 second final clip! Lets just say, we got our fair share of outtakes …From Domingo forgetting his lines to Showbiz using his phone during recording, it was a blast.
Hey, whoever said fighting hunger can’t be fun!?

Big thanks to the Madhouse guys; Sam Diggedy, Showbiz, Domingo, and RickyDanny for supporting the cause.

The 102.5 KDON Morning Madhouse are Hunger Fighters….ARE YOU!?

Check out the video below and for more videos of Hunger Fighters in our community visit: TheFoodBank.Org/ThankYou

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SkateJam success? I think so! This past Saturday Whole Foods – Santa Cruz hosted our first SkateJam of the Summer! The setup process started early that morning; Grind Out Hunger founder, Danny Keith, his sidekick, Shawn Hatjes, and Dominic Cusimano of 3D Construction all gathered at Starbucks in Aptos at 6am. They sat down, sipped on some strong coffee and planned out the course of the day.
We packed up some ramps in a Second Harvest Food Bank Truck and met Arenas Towing later to load the rest. We arrived at Whole Foods – Santa Cruz around 8:30am and immediately started the unloading process. We set up the ramps in a layout that kids would love.

When noon rolled around families, friends, and supporters began to arrive to skate, eat, watch, and enjoy a sunny Summer afternoon. Whole Foods provided drinks, pizza, and of course a large section of their parking lot! Big thanks to the Whole Foods Marketing team for organizing this event and providing food!

The event raised a cash equivalent of 500 Pounds at the event, which was matched by an anonymous donation, totaling the amount raised to 1000 Pounds!

Oh and did we mention that the media came out to cover the event too!?! Santa Cruz Sentinel and KSBW 8 News both stopped by.

Check out the Santa Cruz Sentinel Article about the event: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_18355988

KSBW 8 News came out and filmed/aired a short spot of the event on that evening’s news. Pretty sweet!

Next up is the Luau that Whole Foods – Capitola is putting on at their store. Friday, July 1st from 5-8pm. 50% of the proceeds benefit Grind Out Hunger. Bring the Family! See you there!
More info HERE.

Photos by: Shawn Hatjes

Thanks Whole Foods for hosting the event!

Nate Linford

Griffith Stark

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It’s summer! The sun is shining, which means it’s time for you all to get your skate on! On June 25th from 12-4pm Whole Foods Market – Santa Cruz and Grind Out Hunger are teaming up to present the first Grind Out Hunger Skate Jam of the summer! Bring family, bring friends and come spend the day with us! Whether you are skateboarding or not this event will be a blast!
See you all on Saturday the 25th!

Here’s the info:

Skate Jam!

Whole Foods – Santa Cruz
911 Soquel Ave Santa Cruz, CA

12-4pm

$5 or 5 Pounds of food to skate ALL DAY

FAMILY EVENT!
ALL AGES

Check Out the Santa Cruz Patch event HERE.
RSVP to the Facebook Event HERE

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On Wednesday, March 3^rd Second Harvest held its Annual Awards Dinner at the Elks Lodge in Santa Cruz. When people entered they walked down a red carpet, cameras flashing, everyone smiling, and Danny Keith asking guests quick questions for Second Harvest TV.  Danny would remind everyone that he spoke to that this night was “all about you”, and it was. In past years this dinner had always been full of representatives from businesses and organizations that supported Second Harvest, this year several bright young faces joined the ceremony. With students from Gateway Elementary, Aptos Jr. High, St. Francis High, and Monterey Coast Prep, several tables were full of kids that devoted their time and efforts to raising food for Grind Out Hunger this past year. Without them Grind Out Hunger could not have reached the 278,000 pounds it raised in 2010.

The attending schools were awarded Grind Out Hunger Skateboards with plaques mounted onto them. When the kids from the schools saw their awards their faces lit up with smiles. The room exploded with applause for each school. These kids are our future they are the ones that can end hunger issues within Santa Cruz County and beyond. To see all of the young faces at this year’s awards dinner was extraordinary. As each school received their award the kids would all quickly pull out their cameras and phones to take photos of it to share with all of their family and friends.

Gateway Elementary with their Grind Out Hunger Award

Dominic Cusimano, owner of 3D Construction, was recognized with one of the two “Generation Next” awards that were handed out that evening. Dominic helped out Grind Out Hunger by lending us tools as well as his skills to build all of the skate ramps that were used our 1^st Anuual Skateathon at Twin Lakes Church and our Skate Jam at Whole Foods – Santa Cruz.

Danny Keith talking to Dominic Cusimano on Second Harvest TV.

Jesse Gullings, well known skateboarder and owner of Jesse Gullings Painting, was awarded the other “Generation Next” award. Jesse, with his knowledge in skateboarding, also lent us a hand with building all of the ramps for the Skate Jams.

Dominic and Jesse both spent hours during weekends last year out at the Second Harvest Food Bank sawing, drilling, and building these skate ramps. Without Dominic and Jesse’s work the skate jams would never have happened. Big thanks to both of them for their time and support.

Danny Keith talking to Jesse Gullings on Second Harvest TV.

All of us at Second Harvest and Grind Out Hunger want to thank everyone that participated in the food drive this past year. We are looking forward to working with schools, old and new, during the next food drive. With such a successful year in 2010 we can only imagine what the future has in store for us in 2011.

Grind Out Hunger Awards:

Gateway Elementary – Most Pounds per Capita

Aptos Jr. High – Most Pounds per Capita

St. Francis High – Most Pounds per Capita

Monterey Coast Prep – Heavyweight Award, Most Pounds Overall

Dominic Cusimano – Generation Next

Jesse Gullings – Generation Next

Every pound raised during the Holiday Food Drive is being distributed by Second Harvest’s network of 200 local agencies and programs and their 3,000 volunteers. Together these agencies provide food and hope to 50,000 Santa Cruz County residents each month, half of whom are kids. A short video highlighting several of the agencies and the work that they do was shown at the dinner. Watch the Video

View a list of Second Harvest Member Agencies

View a complete list of all Award Winners

Special thanks to all of our Sponsors

Enjoy a slideshow of some photos taken at the event:

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Its amazing what the youth can do when empowered. What started out 7 years ago as a way to teach kids altruism and compassion for their community has turned into a full blown spectacle. The goal for 2010 Grind Out Hunger campaign in Santa Cruz County was 250,000 pounds almost double 2009′s raise of 130,000 pounds.

This year was a bit different, Grind Out Hunger added a new partner with Skateworks Skateshop

Bill Strubing of Skateworks Skateshop

to combine forces with Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop, Jimbo Phillips Graphix and 102.5 KDON.  2010 for Grind Out Hunger was by far the craziest it has ever been, with the need to feed kids up more than ever and the students buckling down and getting serious about rising to the challenge.

St Francis came and helped at Santa Cruz County Fair

It all started with the Santa Cruz County Fair and education days collecting over 3000 pounds, great start to a busy year.

Then the speaking tour began, St Francis High, Aptos Jr. High, Cabrillo College, Gateway Elementary, Happy Valley Elementary, Lakeview Middle School, Santa Cruz High, Salesian Elementary and the list goes on.

3D Constructions Dominic Cusimano is a madman!

3D Constructions Dominic Cusimano and Jesse Gullings Painting spent over a month building ramps at Second Harvest Food Bank  so that Grind Out Hunger could do the 1st Annual Skateathon sponsored by Rotary Interact at Twin Lakes Church raking in over 13,000 pounds of food and giving away a 1999 Red Mustang (WHAT!).

1st Annual Skateathon at Twin Lakes Church raised 13,000 pounds of food

That led to Whole Foods Market Santa Cruz stepping up and throwing down the 1st annual SkateJam presented by Whole Foods Market Santa Cruz and Rotary Interact (see the theme here?) both of these events were peppered by rain but it did not deter the kids from coming out and skating while donating food to a great cause.

Whole Foods Market Santa Cruz and The Skate Jam

It seemed that the kids were on a roll, school after school was smashing their previous years raise and setting new standards, gauntlets were being thrown down and some claims of who was beating who at what were circulating around feverishly as no one wanted to be left behind on this one.  With $1800 in gift certificates up for grabs from Skateworks Skateshop and Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop, here are your 2010 Grind Out Hunger Champions!

The 2010 Grind Out Hunger Heavy Weight Champion was Monterey Coast Preparatory, Sinda Merritt and her students really set the bar raising over 21,000 pounds of food!! This amazing group of angels were relentless in their pursuit of raising food for kids putting the goal well ahead of themselves. Over the last three years with Grind Out Hunger, Sinda and crew have pulled in just under 40,000 pounds of food…not bad for 25 kids (do the math thats 1600 pounds per student!) Monterey Coast Prep takes home $600 in gift certificates to Skateworks Skateshop and Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop.

These kids got creative capping off their drive with "FREE" gift wrapping that raised thousands of dollars!

St Francis Central Coast Catholic High School, John Marheineke and the students invited Grind Out Hunger to come speak at their campus. Just over 200 kids attend the school and had barely participated in the food drive in years past. This was the 1st stop for 2010 Grind Out Hunger, you could feel the energy from the kids and they were pumped up. When asked what their goal was,  the students blurted out “8000 POUNDS”…later when speaking with John he was obviously worried, “How in the world are we going to do that??”.  In reality it didn’t matter if they did, the fact was they had a goal, were focused and no matter what they would give it 100%.  Grind Out Hunger is proud to say that the students and staff  not only hit the 8000 pounds they passed it. Congrats on the 10,001 pounds!!!!! St Francis Central Coast Catholic High School skates away with $600 in gift certificates to Skateworks Skateshop and Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop.

St Francis Central Coast Catholic High School sold 10 Grind Out Hunger skate decks totaling 3000 pounds!

Aptos Jr. High was a veteran of 2009 Grind Out Hunger and they lost no time is establishing that 2010 was going to be a record breaker.  Brian Saxton and his students proceeded to make challenges, prizes and selling hot cocoa…whatever it took to hit 10,000 pounds. Well…Aptos Jr. High not only did that they went to a whopping 11,662 pounds. Aptos Jr. High pulls a repeat and wheels away $300 in gift certificates to Skateworks Skateshop and Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop.

Aptos Jr. High presents a check to Grind Out Hunger for $3500 or 10,500 pounds!

Gateway Elementary is also no stranger to the Grind Out Hunger challenge. The staff and students here always get creative and focus on the end goal of feeding kids. The presentation at Gateway is always fun as the kids are so inquisitive about how the food gets distributed, what kind of food can they bring in and how much more the dollar actually allows the purchase of healthy nutritious food. Thank goodness this is our future at work, its apparent that if we continue to provide altruistic ways for the youth of today to participate, society will become a better place. Gateway Elementary dropped 6,545 pounds into the barrels and captured 1st place for Elementary schools. Gateway Elementary slashes its way to $300 in gift certificates to Skateworks Skateshop and Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop.

Gateway students are always excited when Grind Out Hunger starts up!

At the end of it all, the youth in all their amazingness (is that a word?) managed to roll right by the 250,000 pound number, sliding in at a cool 278,616 pounds setting a new record and firmly placing the youth of Santa Cruz County as the 3rd largest contributor to the Second Harvest Holiday Food Drive 2.1 million pound goal. It is impressive the direction that Grind Out Hunger is going and there is some amazing news on the horizon for this kid powered charity so stay tuned! Below is a list of the winners of the 2010 Grind Out Hunger Challenge with a full list of schools…is your school involved? If not email HERE and get involved.

Here is a total showing of all 2010 Grind Out Hunger schools, the 1st line is a total of all events like skate jams, online cash donations and anonymous donors. This year was a 1st for the colleges UCSC and Cabrillo College to participate in Grind Out Hunger. Both of these campuses are like small cities with over 40,000 students and staff between them its obvious that the partnership with higher education has some incredible possibilities!

There are also some honorable mentions of schools that made this their 1st year with Grind Out Hunger. Watch out for these schools next year!

Enjoy the 2010 Grind Out Hunger Scrapbook!

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Grind Out Hunger 2010 goal of 250,000 pounds

7 years ago when Grind Out Hunger was founded, I would have never imagined that it could become such a powerful tool for the youth. As I sit here and write on this day of excitement and family gatherings aka Christmas Eve, I can only think of all of the families that will have a holiday meal because the youth of Santa Cruz County stepped up and made a dent in the overall need of Second Harvest Food Banks 2.1 Million pound goal. I started this year at St. Francis High School, John Marheineke invited me out and the students claimed “8000 pounds is our goal”…he pulled me aside and asked me if I was crazy they had never raised more than a couple hundred pounds…I said to him “watch what these kids will do”…bookend that with Monterey Coast Prep’s Sinda Merrit excerpt from Facebook chats and phone calls “Hi its Sinda, this year Monterey Coast Prep is planning to double 2009′s raise of 8000 pounds, just thought I would give you a heads up”…

Then the year was off to a whirl wind Santa Cruz County Fair on September 15th was the official kickoff for the window on Grind Out Hunger overall thousands of kids came through and dropped food into the Grind Out Hunger Halfpipe…I must mention that we had some serious support from the Strubing Family/Skateworks Skate Shop, 102.5 KDON and The Morning Madhouse, Jimbo Phillips Graphix, Second Harvest Food Bank, FRINGE Gear, TAC Apparel, Shawn Hatjes/Santa Cruz Waves, 3D Construction , Jesse Gullings Painting, SKATEBOARDS.com, Rotary Interact and Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop.

Once the year kicked off I then began my rounds to schools, Monterey Bay Academy, St Francis High, Ceiba College Prep, Ocean Alternative School, Spring Hill Elementary, Aptos Jr High, Mission Hill Middle School, Santa Cruz High, Soquel High, Monte Vista Christian, Lakeview Middle School, Salesian Elementary, Gateway Elementary, Cabrillo College and there are probably more I am missing that I visited. This is not including all of the schools that participated in the Grind Out Hunger contest!! Rio Del Mar Elementary, Monterey Coast Prep, Aptos High School, Harbor High, Watsonville High, UCSC and lots more. All along the way watching as kids eyes lit up realizing their goal…

There were special events this year, Tarp Surfing came on board and raised 500 pounds, Rapid Fire donated their concert proceeds to Grind Out Hunger, 3D Construction’s Dominc Cusimano and Jesse Gullings Painting along with wood donated from Big Creek and Pro Build built a mobile skatepark allowing Grind Out Hunger to have skate events with Twin Lakes Church and Rotary Interact had the 1st Annual Skateathon as did Whole Foods Santa Cruz and Rotary Interact Skate Jam. Whole Foods Capitola held a Taste of Elegance and a few anonymous donors supported Grind Out Hunger and the youth. Home Space/Work Space did a 3 day extravaganza raising over $1000.  Shawn Hatjes Photography made photo post cards and donated profits to Grind Out Hunger. Appetizer Media donated proceeds from their iPhone Game and tons of skateboards were sold this year by the schools. It seemed as if everyone in Santa Cruz County was aware of Grind Out Hunger and wanted to help.

People Magazine recognized Grind Out Hunger as an All Star Among Us which meant we got to stand at home plate during a SF Giants game and providing the chance to run some food drives in Atlanta and New Jersey which ultimately, the goal is to take Grind Out Hunger nationwide.

This was another year of press with Grind Out Hunger getting coverage in the Santa Cruz Sentinel, Register Pajaronian, Aptos Times, Mid County Post, GoodTimes, Santa Cruz Weekly, The Huffington Post, People Magazine, KSBW 8, KION 46, Community TV and Santa Cruz Waves.

2010 was one of success, numerous schools went above the 10,000 pound mark while one school went above the 20,000 pound mark all skating towards the 250,000 pound goal for this year.

A full recap with poundage from each school is coming as Second Harvest is still tallying the results from all that was collected in the 2010 Grind Out Hunger campaign and I have a feeling…call it a hunch…ok I have inside info…because the youth of Santa Cruz County decided they wanted to feed kids this year I am confident we will meet that goal of 250,00 pounds.

As I close, please take a moment and recognize the youth of Santa Cruz County, their supporters, their schools and their hearts which drove them to collect as much food and cash as humanly possible to feed kids.

I also want to recognize the staff that made all of this possible at Second Harvest Food Bank, Willy Elliot-McCrea whom without I could have never gotten off the ground, Sam Neider my trusty Grind Out Hunger assistant, Bly Morales for helping me make sure I knew where I was supposed to be and snapping pics, Lisa Allyn for keeping the spreadsheet straight, Vicki Lowell for blogging it up, Clyde Kimura for handling all of those barrel pick ups at schools around the county, All of the Second Harvest Drivers that had to go into the schools and get those full barrels, Brooke Johnson for tolerating the madness of delivering ramps all over the place and blessing the use of trucks, Victor Kimura for organizing insurance coverage for the skate events, Ernesto Nieves for organizing the storage and delivery of the skate ramps, Carlos Juarez, Doug Brooks, Mark Rodriguez and Frank Hernandez for hauling and deploying ramps even in the pouring rain so kids could skate, Megan Riggs for coming out and manning the tables at the skate events and finally accounting for counting all those dollars and cents the kids donated to make our goal of 250,000 pounds. Meet the Second Harvest Staff Here I genuinely thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Enjoy the pics from this years 2010 Grind Out Hunger campaign….Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Stay tuned for a full update in 2011 as we announce the total pounds raised, the standouts that made it happen and the plans for 2011 Grind Out Hunger…