America’s Second Harvest of Wisconsin Celebrates Egg-cellent Donation

United Egg Producers Donate 288,000 Eggs

Milwaukee, WI – America’s Second Harvest of Wisconsin is celebrating the largest donation of eggs ever received at the food bank.  The United Egg Producers will donate 288,000 eggs to help feed the hungry in Wisconsin on Wednesday, April 1, 2009 at 10:30 a.m.  Day Break Foods and S&R Farms, both members of the United Egg Producers, are making this generous donation possible.  “Our families have been farming in the Milwaukee community for several generations and we are proud to offer our help and support when our community needs it more than ever,” said Al Schimpf of S&R Farms. 

“This donation couldn’t have come at a better time.  Food donations are down and demand is up.  Demand for food from the food bank is up 36% as more and more people fall victim to the economy and turn to a food pantry for their next meal.  Many of the emergency feeding programs we provide food to are serving double the number of people they typically serve,” said Bonnie J. Bellehumeur, president of Second Harvest of Wisconsin. 

In coordination with Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger relief organization, America’s egg farmers will be donating more than 12 million eggs to help make sure America’s food banks are well stocked with nutrient-dense eggs. Each egg contains 13 essential nutrients including protein, folate, iron and zinc.

“United Egg Producers is dedicated to helping those less fortunate,” said Gene Gregory, president of United Egg Producers.  “Our hope is that this donation makes a significant difference in the lives of many people who live at risk of hunger, especially during the Easter holiday.”  The eggs will be made available to food pantries, meal programs and shelters just in time for Easter.

###

235,000 people in eastern Wisconsin rely on food supplied by America’s Second Harvest of Wisconsin each year.  The food bank is the largest, private, non-profit distributor of food in the state. Second Harvest Food Bank distributes nearly 11 million pounds of food annually to 1,100 food pantries, meal programs and shelters throughout eastern Wisconsin.  Second Harvest Food Bank is affiliated with Feeding America, formerly named America’s Second Harvest, which is consistently ranked as one of the most efficient charities, out of the country’s 100 largest charities, by Forbes magazine.  Since 1982, America’s Second Harvest of Wisconsin has distributed more than 200 million pounds of food.  To learn more about hunger in Wisconsin, log onto www.secondharvestwi.org.