Valley food bank raises $106,097 and 35,817 pounds of food in annual drive

By WILLIAM K. ALCORN

alcorn @vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley’s 2010 annual Harvest for Hunger raised $106,097 and 35,817 pounds of food.

In 2009, Harvest for Hunger garnered $103,339 and 46,117 pounds of food, said Michael Iberis, Second Harvest executive director.

Harvest for Hunger is a monthlong food-and-funds drive conducted in March to replenish food-bank shelves during the spring and summer months when donations traditionally taper off, Iberis said.

All funds raised and food collected remain in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties, he said.

“The Mahoning Valley is witnessing an economic ground zero every day in the form of longer lines at food pantries and other depressing indications of our bad economy,” Iberis said.

Second Harvest is focused on the plight of citizens who are reeling from the dire economic conditions, such as high unemployment, that have sent people in droves to seek food assistance, he said.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.