Second Harvest, WFMJ team up for needy

The working poor, women, children and retired people are the new face of hunger.

YOUNGSTOWN — The Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley, in conjunction with WFMJ Channel 21, is conducting a special Feed Our Valley project during the holiday season.

Feed Our Valley is a campaign to help collect food and raise awareness about hunger in the Mahoning Valley. WFMJ and corporate partner Sparkle Markets are conducting events and food drives to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank.

Individuals, organizations and corporations can visit www.wfmj.com to learn more about how they can help with Feed Our Valley.

Michael Iberis, Second Harvest executive director, said the need for food has grown as the economy worsened.

The emerging faces of hunger are women and children, working poor families and retired people, many of whom have never had to ask for help before.

Because of a lack of resources, they are unable to meet their daily needs of food, clothing and shelter. Many of the working poor and retired people find themselves in tough situations because their buying power has decreased significantly in the past couple of years, Iberis said.

As a result of the increased need, Second Harvest Food Bank distributes 20,000 pounds of food daily to 170 hunger relief programs in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties, including church pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters and shelters for battered women.

For every $1 donated, the food bank is able to secure $15 worth of food, Iberis said.

People who want to donate can stop in at Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley, 2805 Salt-Springs Road, Youngstown, or call (330) 792-5522 for information.