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Lisa Allyn Presenting Marissa With Her Next Gen Award

Last Wednesday was the Second Harvest Food Bank Annual Awards Dinner. Every year Grind Out Hunger gives out a set of awards known as the “Generation Next” awards. These are handed out to specific people or groups of people that went the extra mile during the Grind Out Hunger Food drive to make a difference in their community. This year 4 Generation Next awards were handed out, Marissa Hushaw Received one of them.

Marissa jumped into the Grind Out Hunger Food Drive with a goal of raising $1000 (3000 Pounds of Food).
She is now at $2150 (6,450 Pounds of Food).

The amount of pounds raised is only a part of what Marissa has accomplished with Grind Out Hunger. It is her enthusiasm and dedication that has turned her into a true hunger fighter. Advocating for the program every chance she gets, Marissa has taken the knowledge she has about food insecurity to China Peak Resort and turned that mountain into the Grind Out Hunger spot for snowboarders and skiers. You cant walk around that mountain without seeing Grind Out Hunger stickers or her pink special edition GOH wristbands. THIS is what fighting hunger is all about, spreading the word. Sharing the information with your peers and letting them know that there is problem and that the only way for remedy it is to do it together.

Congratulations Marissa!

Here are a few words from Marissa about her evening at the awards dinner:

“I can honestly say the Second Harvest Food Bank/Grind Out Hunger Awards dinner was one of the most amazing evenings of my life! The place looked amazing, and it was filled with rad people who devote their life making a differance in our community. I was so stoked to get the Next Generation award! But I was even more stoked to know I received it for making a difference in my community. It was also pretty cool to get congratulated by Pastor Rene of Twin Lakes Church and Kim Moriarty!
One thing I learned that night was that im not very good at walking in heels…
I think i’ll stick to my snowboard boots!”

~ Marissa Hushaw

Hunger Fighters; Zane Keith and Marissa Hushaw.

Marissa and Kim Moriarty

Pastor Rene of Twin Lakes Church Congratulating Marissa.

The Hushaw Family.

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Here is another story from the front lines of kids stepping up to the plate to help those in need…

Last Saturday Carolyn and Dakota, both black belts from Aptos Martial Arts Academy, broke 110 boards in the fight against hunger. Family, friends, and supporters pledged money per board with a large portion of the funds going to Second Harvest Food Bank. Students at Aptos Marital Arts all got together prior to the event and decorated all of the boards that Carolyn and Dakota were going to break. The art on the boards was a mix of encouragement, thanks, dedications to people and supporters, as well as struggles that they wanted to be symbolically broken through. Twin Lakes Church Pastor, René Schlaepfer showed up to support Carolyn and Dakota. A special board was saved for him to break at the very end of the event.

After the event Dakota expressed his thanks, “I knew that for every board we broke we could potentially save a life. I feel so blessed to have received the support we did. It is really awesome. Thank you all very much!”

This “Board Break-a-Thon” raised 6,560 Pounds of food!

Although these pounds aren’t being counted specifically towards Grind Out Hunger‘s food drive we wanted to highlight these two, seeing as they are two kids with big hearts. These pounds will be going toward Twin Lakes Church’s goal of 1 MILLION pounds for this seasons Second Harvest Food Banks Holiday Food Drive.

We are excited to have Twin Lakes Church supporting Second Harvest Food Bank – Santa Cruz in such a big way.

Thank You Carolyn and Dakota for your dedication and support.

Carolyn and Dakota both teamed up to break boards in the fight against hunger.

110 boards were broken and 6,560 Pounds of food were raised.

Twin Lakes Church Pastor, René Schlaepfer, breaks a board at the end of the event.

Carolyn and Dakota Jones

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2nd Annual Skate-A-Thon

This past Saturday was our 2nd Annual Skate-A-Thon at Twin Lakes Church. It was the first time we were able to put our NEW 48ft trailer to the test. We hauled the ramps to Twin Lakes Church at around 830am Saturday morning and unloaded them all by 10am. With help of a few of the Twin lakes staff we were able to get everything done quickly and smoothly. Last year this event had on and off rain, this year we couldn’t have asked for better weather. The sun was shining with barley any clouds in the sky. Having nice weather, fun music, a great crowd, and a bunch of kids skating made this event the success that it was.

Kids started showing up to skate right at 10am. Many of them stayed all the way from 10am-4pm. Our mission during these events is to create a safe, fun environment for kids to skate for a good cause. It bring awareness to the youth as well as their families about the hunger issues in Santa Cruz County and beyond. They are able to see how supporting the community can be combined with fun activities such as skateboarding.

We had a table set up with merch and a place to purchase raffle tickets. Items we had available included; hats, stickers, buttons, wristbands, and skate decks. We ended up raffling off 2 skate decks signed by Jimbo Phillips as well as a Grind Out hunger hat.  Twin lakes Church Pastor, René Schlaepfer even stopped by the event for a bit to show his support. He was thrilled about the environment we had set up for kids to skate in support of a good cause.

The event ended up raising 1,500+ pounds of food including both cash and canned food donations. The Helen and Will Webster Foundation ended up giving us a $1500 cash donation totaling our poundage to 6,000!!!

Thanks to Dominic Cusimano, owner of 3D Construction for helping with setup and ramp repairs, Ben K of TAC Apparel Company for helping with this years flyer, Jimbo Phillips for signing decks and being a huge supporter of the cause
Big thanks to Twin Lakes Church and their staff for providing the space for the event as well as setup and breakdown support.

We also wanted to give a shout out to Mike Murray, who shot photos during the event and shared them with us on our facebook page. Be sure to head over to www.facebook.com/grindouthunger to check some of them out!

Can’s wait until next year!
Be sure to be on the lookout for our next skate event. Another one is in the works. Stay tuned.

Putting Our New 48ft Trailer to the Test.

Colby Phillips shredding...

Dropping in...

Our New Grind Out Hunger Stickers.

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Carolyn breaking a board. Photo Credit: Tarmo Hannula of the Register Pajaronian

POWER TO THE YOUTH!

Twin Lakes Church is a huge supporter of Grind Out Hunger and Second Harvest Food Bank. Their poundage goal this year has been set to 1,000,000 Pounds!! Each church member, including the youth, have been asked to raise $100 by the end of December. Carolyn, 11, and her brother Dakota, both black belts in Tae Kwon Do, have decided to use their experience in martial arts to help fight hunger. They both are going to break 100 wooden boards and are asking friends, family, and supporters to pledge money per board. Pledges can be made at:www.boardbreakathon.com

Grind Out Hunger will be there to document this event. Show up and show your support!

The duo will complete the Break-A-Thon Saturday October 22nd from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM at Twin Lakes Church Gymnasium located at 2701 Cabrillo College Drive in Aptos, California. The event will be filmed and posted on www.boardbreakathon.com and to YouTube.

Goal: $1000.00

Pledged: $2,137.00 (As of 10/22/11)

Carolyn explains: , “Going hungry hurts a lot more than breaking boards. We can do this so we will.”

Break-A-Thon to Fight Hunger

WHAT: The duo will be breaking 100 boards to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank.

WHEN: 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Oct. 22, 2011

WHERE: Twin Lakes Church gymnasium, 2701 Cabrillo College Drive, Aptos.

DETAILS: Pledges can be made at www.boardbreakathon.com

Carolyn

Dakota

Read article from Santa Cruz Sentinel: HERE

Read article from Register Pajaronian: HERE

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The first time we will be able to put this trailer to the test will be on October 8th for our 2nd Annual Skate-A-Thon at Twin Lakes Church.

The trailer is currently plain white. A blank canvas. Ready for artwork. Anyone have ideas for how we should design the trailer???
Let us know in comments below or send us a suggestion on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/grindouthunger

See you at the Skate-A-Thon on the 8th!

Quick sample of what we could have the trailer look like...

Suggestions for artwork?

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What do we have here?!? Another benefit show at The Catalyst!?! Yup! Thrive, KeepitLit and Just Chill are performing October 8th at The Catalyst Atrium to benefit Grind Out Hunger. If you bring non-perishable food to donate you will be entered into a raffle. You also get a raffle ticket with the purchase of a show ticket. Prizes include skateboards, apparel and MORE.

So after you come by our 2nd Annual Skate-A-Thon at Twin Lakes Church cruise over to The Catalyst and join us for a great show. See you there!!

Here are the details:

THRIVE
KeepitLit
Just Chill

A show to benefit Grind Out Hunger

Tha Catalyst Atrium
1011 Pacific Ave.
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

October 8th
8pm
Ages 21+

$8 advance $10 Door
All tickets include FREE raffle ticket

Bring in non-perishable food to donate and get raffle tickets.

RSVP to Facebook event here:
https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=236591499726449

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Its that time of year! Our 2nd Annual Skate-A-Thon is just around the corner.

Rotary Interact and Grind Out Hunger Present:

2nd Annual Skate-A-Thon

Saturday, October 8th

Twin Lakes Church
2701 Cabrillo College Drive
Aptos, CA 95003

10am-4pm

10am-12pm – Ages 10 and Under
12pm-4pm – All Ages

Bring minimum of $5 or 5 Pounds of food to skate our sweet ramp setup!

We will have Grind Out Hunger goodies:
• Decks
• Wristbands
• Hats
• Pins

See you all there!

RSVP on Facebook to let us know you are coming:
https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=223111287742109

Big thanks to our sponsors:
Twin Lakes Church, Jimbo Phillips Graphix, Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop, Tac Apparel Company, 3D Construction and 102.5 KDON

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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…