1. We are a hunger-relief organization that supplies hungry
South Georgians with food - the basic need they have to survive and
thrive. Many South Georgians dont know where their next meal is
coming from. Without this basic necessity, people can't
productively work and children can't learn in school, fueling a
vicious cycle. We are South Georgias largest hunger-relief
organization, and we confront hunger in our area in a personal and
powerful way each day of the year. We deliver hope for tomorrow to
individuals who need it most. Through a regionally connected system
of member agencies, there is access to food in every county we
serve in South Georgia. Our organization and our donors are deeply
concerned for people who face hunger each day. Together, we
recognize that having a secure source of food, the most basic of
all human needs, is the foundation for believing tomorrow can be a
better day. Food is more than nourishment for the body; it also
strengthens the will to persevere. By responsibly distributing food
to people in need - including children, the elderly, and the
working poor - our organization helps hungr y South Georgians
surpass concerns of basic needs, helping them believe that tomorrow
can be better. With your support, we will serve the basic needs of
today and plan for the needs of tomorrow. With each meal served,
our organization feeds hope for tomorrow, connecting your community
and all of Sout h Georgia in making a tangible impact on the
problem of hunger each and every day.
2. History of America's Second Harvest of South Georgia, Inc.
America's Second Harvest of South Georgia, Inc. was founded in 1982
by a group of local volunteers. The group was lead by a group from
local church congregations that wanted to make it easier for all
nonprofits to access food and services for their programs that
served the community. In 1982 the group used the basement of the
Catholic Social Services building to accept the first load of
donated food from the Atlanta Community Food Bank. In 1984 the
organization then called, The Unity Food Bank, Inc., moved to the
corner of a small warehouse in Downtown Valdosta. From there the
organization continued to grow and moved to the Leila Ellis School
building in 1988 under the leadership of Ms. Ethel Greer. In 1990
The Unity Food Bank, Inc. became a branch of The Food Bank of
Coastal Georgia, Inc. in Savannah, Georgia. The Food Bank of
Coastal Georgia, Inc. is an affiliate of the Americas Second
Harvest Food Bank network, the nations largest food bank network
with over 200 national facilities. In 1993, under the leadership of
William G. Eager, Jr., the current CEO, Franklin J. Richards II,
was hired and began to redevelop the Valdosta Facility. In 1996 the
food bank was separated from The Food Bank of Coastal Georgia, and
became The Valdosta Food Bank, Inc. and was recognized as a free
standing Subsidiary Distribution Organization of Americas Second
Harvest National. In 1999 The Valdosta Food Bank applied with
Americas Second Harvest National to become the 200th nationally
accredited Food Bank in America. In January 2000, after a perfect
inspection with Americas Second Harvest National Staff, The
Valdosta Food Bank, Inc. was accredited as a member of the Americas
Second Harvest Network and became Americas Second Harvest of South
Georgia, Inc. America's Second Harvest of South Georgia, Inc. now
operates a 55,000 sq. ft. facility in Valdosta and provides food
and services to over 366 member agencies in Lowndes, Brooks,
Echols, Thomas, Berrien, Lanier, Cook, Ware, Atkinson, and Clinch
counties in South Georgia. America's Second Harvest of South
Georgia, Inc. annually distributes millions of pounds of food and
provides thousands of meals to the entire South Georgia area.
3. Programs Food Bank Program - Providing cases of donated food
to nonprofit agencies and food banks in Georgia. We annually
distribute over 8 million pounds of food each year. This program
provides food to over 366 member programs in ten counties. Local
agencies access food by providing a shared maintenance fee up to
.19 cents per pound to cover transportation and handling of
products. All food is free to agencies and must be given to end
users at no cost. The food bank brings over 14 million dollars a
year worth of product to South Georgia. Product Recovery Program -
Cleans and repackages damaged grocery items. We annually save over
2 Million pounds of food from going into local landfills. The food
is used to feed the needy in Georgia. Kids Caf - Provides meals to
children through after school feeding programs. We feed 1300 plus
children each night at our Kids Cafe programs in 8 counties.
Agency/Faith Based Services - Helps other charity organizations set
up shelters, soup kitchens, and emergency pantries. Rescue South
Georgia - Rescues food from restaurants, deli's, bakeries, and
produce marts. This food is recycled into our Kids Cafe and Soup
Kitchen programs. Educational Programs - Providing children's
groups educational material to help eliminate the cycle of hunger
in South Georgia. Community Kitchen Second Harvest of South Georgia
operates a 3,000 sq ft commercial kitchen and produces meals for
the Meals on Wheels Program. The kitchen also performs for profit
commercial catering in a venture philanthropy project. Manna
Program- Provides food to low income neighborhood. We provide over
2 million pounds of food to low income areas each year. Teachers
Harvest-Provides free school supplies to teachers in local school
systems. This program works with local companies to collect excess
and used office supplies to help local teachers. Disaster Services
We provide assistance to local fire, police, city, and county
governments in time of need. We MOUs with FEMA, Red Cross, and
Salvation Army to assist these agencies as well in times of need.
Purchase Program - A service offered to member agencies to help
secure products that are not donated on a regular basis. The food
bank buys paper goods, chemical products, and bulk food at whole
sale prices to help member agencies save money.
4. Who Is Second Harvest of South Georgia? Definitions: Food
Bank a not-for-profit 501(C)(3) organization that is responsible
for providing food, supplies, and resources to a network of local
charities. Food Banks belong to the nationwide network, Feeding
America. Food Banks are assigned a territory in which to operate.
In Georgia there are seven food banks. Food Banks generally dont
provide food directly to the general public unless working in a
disaster or bulk distribution program. Only certified member
agencies can access food from the Food Bank. Member agencies
contribute a shipping and handling fee to help cover the cost of
moving food from the donors across the United States to the
regional warehouses. The product is free to member agencies.
5. Food Pantry a not-for-profit 501 (C)(3) or religious
organization, as defined by the IRS, that accesses food from the
local food bank for the purposes of providing food to the needy,
ill, elderly, and infants in a community. Food Pantries are not
allowed to apply any fees for services to the end user of product.
Member Agency an organization that the food bank certifies after
conducting an audit. Member agencies are certified for a period of
12 months and must operate under all polices and procedures of the
regional Food Bank in order to continue to receive food and
assistance. Member agencies must ensure food safety and fair
treatment to the end users of the product. Shared Maintenance Fee
the fee that member agencies contribute to food banks to help
offset the cost of moving food from donors all across that nation.
The average cost in South Georgia is .11 cents per pound on donated
food and .19 cents per pound on purchase product. SMF fees go
toward the operation of the facility and inbound freight costs.
Delivery Fee the fee that a member agency pay to have food
transported from the regional warehouses to the front door of the
agency. The average fee for this this service is .06 cents per
pound. This fee is not assessed on product if the member agency
picks their own food up at a warehouse. Some agencies need
assistance loading product into their facilities and that service
is done at no fee.
6. Second Harvest of South Georgia Service Area
7. Public Health Security & Bioterrorism Preparedness and
Response Act of 2002 A few facts that you should know regarding
this Act: o The Act takes effect December 9, 2005 if you have more
than 500 employees, and takes effect June 9, 2006 if you have less
than 500 employees. o That the final rule of the Act excludes lot
code tracking. o The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has
determined that it does not need records of food donated to food
banks! o Food Banks are exempt from tracking. Under the law, they
are considered Consumers. The FDA is exempting nonprofit food
establishments that prepare or serve food directly to the consumer.
Nonprofit food establishment'' has been defined to mean: A
charitable entity that prepares or serves food directly to the
consumer or otherwise provides food or meals for consumption by
humans or animals in the United States. The term includes central
food banks, soup kitchens, and nonprofit food delivery services. To
be considered a nonprofit food establishment, the establishment
must meet the terms of section 501(c) (3) of the U.S. Internal
Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. 501(c) (3)). Congress gave the FDA the
discretion to issue regulations regarding the establishment and
maintenance of records under section 306 of the Bioterrorism Act.
Charitable food establishments, such as food banks, stand in place
of the consumer, and the FDA will treat food banks as consumers for
purposes of this final rule. Therefore, grocery stores, catering
facilities, and others giving a charitable donation of food to a
food bank, soup kitchen, or other similar charitable entity are not
required to keep records of the immediate subsequent recipients of
the food, and the charitable food establishment does not need to
keep records of the immediate previous sources of that food or the
immediate subsequent recipients of that food. FDA has determined
that it does not need records of food donated to food banks to
address credible threats of serious adverse health consequences or
death to humans or animals. In the event of a trace back
investigation, FDA believes that it is likely to have the ability
to trace the immediate previous source of contaminated food by
other means. How does the final rule impact reclamation centers?
With respect to the reclamation centers,'' the FDA understands that
most reclamation centers are actually owned by the grocery store or
grocery chain. Such reclamation centers will be treated as if they
are part of the grocery store and therefore, must keep the records
maintained by the grocery store. For instance, if food from the
reclamation center is donated to a food bank, the exclusion
described previously applies (food banks are exempt from tracking).
If food is returned to the manufacturer, or sold to another party
(not a consumer), then the reclamation center must keep records of
the immediate subsequent recipients of food, to the extent this
information is reasonably available. Bottom line? With the
implementation of this law, donation may be a better option for you
and your company as salvage dealers can no longer purchase from
reclaim centers.
8. Tax Reform Act of 1986 The Tax Reform Act of 1986 does not
substantially impact the computation of in-kind contributions.
However, the new law may substantially increase the deductible
amount of in-kind contributions. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 changed
and expanded the inventory costing rules. Except for small
retailers and wholesalers and certain farmers, all taxpayers that
maintain inventories must now include in their inventory costing
system many expenses that were previously expensed currently. The
effect is that the inventory cost of each inventory item is
increased. If the business doesnt get the item out of inventory in
its taxable year, either by sale, abandonment or gift, those
previously expensed costs that now must be attributed to inventory
wont reduce the business taxable income. So, to the extent that
businesses affected by these new costing rules make charitable
donations of inventory, they can effectively get a tax deduction
for those expenses that otherwise would not be currently
deductible. Remember, the corporate donor can take a deduction
equal to the cost of the item plus one half of any appreciation
(the price at which the donor could have sold the property less the
cost). However, the deduction for inventory is also limited to
twice the cost of the item. Thus when the new inventory cost rules
increase the cost of an item, they also raise the limitation on the
charitable deduction. Many tax authorities estimate that the new
rules will increase the inventory costs by 10 to 15%. This means
that the twice the cost limitation will be increased 20 to 30%.
Thus, the new tax laws have increased the benefits of
donating.
9. Virtual Tour of a Food Bank
10. Hours and Contact Information Hours of Operation: Monday
thru Thursday 8:00am till 5:00pm Friday 8:00am till 1:00pm Drivers
will pick up on all Holidays except Christmas Day and Thanksgiving
Day Contact Information: Will Robinson Vice President of Operations
Toll Free Number: 888-453-4143 Local Number: 229-244-2678 Southern
Linc: 888-280-7872 Blackberry 229-563-6133 Email:
[email protected] Web Site: www.valdostafoodbank.org Frank
Richards President and CEO Toll Free Number: 888-453-4143 Local
Number: 229-244-2678 Southern Linc: 888-397-0262 Blackberry
229-563-3965 Email: [email protected] Web Site:
www.valdostafoodbank.org