Yavapai Food Council announces Yavapai Food Neighbors Project – a community building food donor program
Sedona AZ (July 31, 2013) – According to the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), in 2012 Arizona ranked as the 14 worst in the country for food hardship rate, up from the 15th worst in 2011. One in five Arizona households (20.9%) are now food insecure. According to local research conducted by Cornucopia Community Advocates, in our community 1 out of 4 adults are food insecure and 1 out of 3 children to do not know where their next meal will come from.
Although the Verde Valley is fortunate to have 14 emergency food agencies who provide help to hungry residents, these agencies are not immune to the challenges we all face as a result of a troubled economy. The Yavapai Food Neighbors Project, a program introduced and administered by Yavapai Food Council (YFC), is a means of building community through a long-term “food donor drive”. It is simple and a great way to get involved – possibly the easiest volunteer work you will ever have!
This volunteer based program is simple:
Volunteer Neighborhood Coordinators (NC) bring a group of 15 to 20 people together to create his or her “Neighborhood”. These people are called “Neighborhood Donors” (ND) and may be a traditional neighbor that you live near, from a “work-place” or “association” neighborhood, or even wonderful people you connect with by tabling at the grocery store. Each neighbor is provided a reusable green bag and is asked to buy a couple extra food items each time they go to shopping. Then, on the second Saturday of every even month (Oct, Dec, Feb, Apr, Jun, Aug) the donors place their filled green bags at their door for the Neighborhood Coordinator to pickup and an empty bag is left in its place.
The food collected is then donated to community food banks, pantries, and hunger programs. The flagship program in Ashland, OR (The Ashland Food Project) is responsible for communities on the West Coast collecting over 1 million pounds of food since 2009.
“Yavapai Food Council is as thrilled to be working with the Ashland Food Project, as they are to have Yavapai County, Arizona involved! The beauty of this project it’s simplicity and the opportunity for members of our communities to volunteer and get involved with very little effort. Simply pick up a few extra items when you’re grocery shopping, put them in your green bag at home and set that bag on your door step one Saturday morning (every other month). How much easier can volunteering be? We hope to collect as much as 10,000 pounds of food through the Yavapai Food Neighbors Project before the end of this year!”
Amy Aossey
Executive Director
Yavapai Food Council
According to Aossey, the Yavapai Food Neighbors Project pilot collection was launched Thursday, July 18th, 2013 with volunteer Neighborhood Coordinators placed in Camp Verde, Sedona and VOC. The pilot collection period will run for (4) weeks, in comparison to the normal collection period of (2) full months. Donors in the pilot neighborhoods will place their green bags at their front door before 9am on Saturday, August 17, 2013 for Neighborhood Coordinators to pick up between 9 and 10am. The Neighborhood Coordinators will then take the bags to the Sedona YMCA between 10am and 11:30am for weighing, sorting and delivery of the food collected – public is welcome!
Are you interested in Coordinating your own neighborhood with the Yavapai Food Neighbors Project? The next coordinator and project informational meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 22, 2013 at the Sedona YMCA from 6-7pm.
Are you interested in being a donor in your neighborhood? Contact the Yavapai Food Council and we’ll connect you a coordinator in your neighborhood!
For more information on Yavapai Food Council:
Amy Aossey, Executive Director-Yavapai Food Council
Amy@YavapaiFoodCouncil.org
(928) 593-0755
OR visit www.YavapaiFoodCouncil.org/YavapaiFoodNeighborsProject for more information and videos on this projec