Pete Nebhut

 

 

 

LULAC National President Rosa Rosales; Bob Jilbert, Roadrunner Food Bank; Tyson Team Members; LULAC Board Members

 

Four years ago, Tyson Foods and Feeding America formed an innovative partnership with the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), in which we committed to collaboratively donating one million pounds of food into communities with significant Hispanic populations and strong LULAC Councils.  That milestone has long been surpassed.  To see some of the communities into which this food has gone, see this Google map.

Yesterday, we began our fifth year of this partnership by donating a truckload of Tyson products (31K lbs.) at the National LULAC Conference to Roadrunner Food Bank of Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

We plan on keeping going.  As important as the food donated, bringing more people into the fight against hunger is what is going to create long-term impact from partnerships like this.

It's a great honor to have great partners.  Working together, we know we make a difference.

 I originally put this post up last February.  As we near the end of the school year, it's important to consider just how important school lunch is to the nutritional needs of some kids.  And what is going to happen in a few weeks when summer vacation begins.

 

By Ed Nicholson                                                                           photo by eyeliam--Creative Commons

A colleague of mine came into the office last year with a compelling story.  Her eight year-old grandson frequently spent time with her on weekends. Often he was accompanied by a good friend: a normal looking kid; clean, well-dressed, well-mannered.. The friend had a voracious appetite, eating just about everything in his path.  When my colleague made a lighthearted comment about how much he could pack away, he said, “We don’t eat much at my house on the weekend.”   Turns out, life was pretty tough for this kid.  His single dad was making some choices that didn’t exactly put nutrition at the top of the priority list for his family.

Unfortunately, this kind of story is way too common in our land of plenty.

It’s Friday afternoon here in the Ozarks.  Along about the time this posts, school kids around the country will be eating lunch.  For some of them, it will be the last good meal they’ll have until Monday.  If  I’m reading the charts correctly, over 15 million kids participate in the free school lunch program.  For a lot of these kids, the school lunch program is their lifeline; there just aren’t three squares on the weekends and holidays. 

We know there are lots of stories about these kids out there.  If  you have one  and would like to tell it here, leave us a comment, and we’ll get with you.  You can guest post, or just let us tell it.

Meanwhile, there are lots of ways you can help.  Go to the Share Our Strength or Feeding America web sites.  Or go visit your local food bank. 

No kid should dread the weekend.

We started this Twitter list over a year ago with names of peope who have been active (online or offline) in the discussion  of hunger. Since then it's grown as more and more people find Twitter a valid way to bring the community online.   From time to time, I'll re-tweet the URL to this post. If you'd like your name added to this list, comment here with your Twittername, send Twitter reply to  @TysonFoods, or email me at ed.nicholson@Tyson dot com   I probably won't add you unless you ask me, so if you want to be added (some folks would prefer their names not be on the list), just ask!

There's also a comprehensive hunger twitterers list at http://twitter.com/TysonFoods/hunger-communityh to  which you can subscribe with one click. 

Now. You all go follow each other and talk amongst yourselves.

http://twitter.com/sharestrength  SOS primary account
http://twitter.com/FeedingAmerica  Feeding America
http://twitter.com/billshore Billy Shore, founder of Share Our Strength
http://twitter.com/dpmichel Dan Michel--social media for Feeding America
http://twitter.com/ellendamaschino Ellen Damaschino SOS OFL Hall of Fame Chef and blogger
http://twitter.com/hungeractions Take Action on Hunger
http://twitter.com/rockforhunger  Rock for Hunger
http://twitter.com/FTWM Feed Them With Music
http://twitter.com/AndreaSherwood Andrea Sherwood--Tyson Foods Hunger Relief Team
http://twitter.com/ Ddavenport David Davenport, President & CEO, Capital Area Food Bank of Texas (CAFB)
http://twitter.com/kerri_qunell Kerri Qunell, VP, Communications, CAFB
http://twitter.com/lisa_goddard  Lisa Goddard, Advocacy and Online Marketing Director, CAFB
http://twitter.com/Karlacantu Karla Cantu, Agency Relations Director, CAFB
http://twitter.com/jcdwyer JC Dwyer, TFBN Statewide Advocacy Director, CAFB
http://twitter.com/kimberwillis Kim Willis, Communications Coordinator, CAFB
http://twitter.com/molls2009 Molly Robbins, Community Events Coordinator, CAFB
http://twitter.com/kirrasue  Kirra Hamman, Volunteer Resources Coordinator, CAFB
http://twitter.com/pastelmagickEmily Babb, Community Relations Assistant, CAFB
http://twitter.com/jelyon John Lyon, Faith-Based Capacity Building-VISTA, CAFB
http://twitter.com/tjordanova Tania Jordanova, Food Resources-VISTA, CAFB
http://twitter.com/clarknwark Michael Clark, Mitchell Communications
http://elisemitch  Elise Mitchell, Mitchell Communications
http://twitter.com/EricaBenavides San Antonio Food Bank Community Relations Manager
http://twitter.com/EndChildHunger  Michael Farver
http://twitter.com/susanapics Susan Adcock Photoblogger
http://twitter.com/ederdn Ed Nicholson, personal account
http://twitter.com/azganjar   A. Zganjar, Share Our Strength
http://twitter.com/SuzyTwohig Suzy Twohig, Share Our Strength
http://twitter.com/TSARedKettle The Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign
http://twitter.com/teamlivefeed Tom Robinson, Live Feed (Music for hunger relief, St. Louis)
http://twitter.com/FriendsofWFP Friends of the World Food Program
http://twitter.com/cookingwithamy Cooking With Amy-- Hunger Challenge Blogger
http://twitter.com/egratto Genie Gratto-- Hunger Challenge Blogger
http://twitter.com/marianiles Maria Niles--Hunger Challenge Blogger
http://twitter.com/TexansVsHunger  Texas Food Bank Network
http://twitter.com/whatscooking  Michelle Stern
http://twitter.com/foodbankccs Food Bank of ContraCosta and Solano Counties
http://twitter.com/pdxmission Portland Rescue Mission, Portland, Oregon
http://twitter.com/ftmyerssoupktch Judy--Ft. Myers Soup Kitchen
http://twitter.com/aafb  Association of Arizona Food Banks
http://twitter.com/new_community  New Community Mobile Food Pantry, Naperville, IL
http://twitter.com/markarnoldy Mark Arnoldy-focuses on international malnutrition
http://twitter.com/SchoolLunch Healthful meals & nutrition education for children
http://twitter.com/suzannenlee Suzanne Lee, Dir. of Communications & Mktg.   Care & Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado
http://twitter.com/Deca_Dietician  DeCA Dietician Ft. Lee, VA
http://twitter.com/homewatchnwa Homewatch Northwest Arkansas
http://twitter.com/CWS_Crop    Church World Service
http://twitter.com/GPCAH Greater Philadephia Coalition Against Hunger
http://twitter.com/SecondHelpings  Second Helpings, Indianapolis   
http://twitter.com/miriamskitchen Miriam's Kitchen--serving homeless in DC
http://twitter.com/BreadfortheCity Bread for the City, Washington, DC
http://twitter.com/enklings   Tim Blair, hunger activist
http://twitter.com/poppypembroke Poppy Pembroke Communications Mgr.,Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties
http://twitter.com/heifer  Heifer International
http://twitter.com/heiferportland  Heifer Portland
http://twitter.com/kidsfoodbasket  Kids Food Basket.  Grand Rapids, Michigan
http://twitter.com/BreadHolly Holly Hight--Bread for the World
http://twitter.com/hungerthon  WHY  whyhunger.org
http://twitter.com/fighthunger  World Food Programme
http://twitter.com/WorldFoodPrize World Food Prize
http://twitter.com/StopHunger MAZON--hunger relief organization 
http://twitter.com/EndChildHunger  End Child Hunger, Michael Farver
http://twitter.com/firstthebasics First the Basics (helping people find hot meals)
http://twitter.com/URMission Union Rescue Mission, Little Rock
http://twitter.com/walkforhunger  Kristin--Project Bread--The Walk for Hunger
http://twitter.com/phxmission Phoenix Rescue Mission 
http://twitter.com/creativelyme Sarah Hall
http://twitter.com/FeedINsHungry Emily Bryant
http://twitter.com/WalkandKnock Mary Chant  Walk and Knock-annual food drive
http://twitter.com/swong7   Stacy Wong , Greater Boston Food Bank
http://twitter.com/HandsOnHartford    Hands on Hartford
http://twitter.com/ChicagoShares Chicago Shares
http://twitter.com/localfooddude Timothy Cipriano, New Haven School Systems and Local Food Dude
http://twitter.com/MOWFeedMoreMeals on Wheels Serving Central Virginia
http://twitter.com/AJoyFULLHoliday A  Joyfull Holiday 
http://twitter.com/dipaolamomma Lara DiPaola
http://twitter.com/1millionmeals Jeffrey Strain, Penny Experiment
http://twitter.com/foodhunger  The Volunteer Way
http://twitter.com/Harvest4Hunger Harvest for Hunger
http://twitter.com/pghfoodbank Pittsburgh Food Bank
http://twitter.com/breadjennifer Jennifer Stapleton, Bread for the World
http://twitter.com/bread4theworld Bread for the World
http://twitter.com/CCSTB  Community Center of St. Bernard
http://twitter.com/thelastshow The Last Show--Karen
http://twitter.com/rjtbaum   Robert J. Teitelbaum
http://www.twitter.com/dinnergarden  The Dinner Garden
http://twitter.com/HartfordFoodSys Hartford Food System
Feeding America Food Banks
http://twitter.com/2harvest Second Harvest Heartland
http://twitter.com/2harvestCFL Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, Orlando
http://twitter.com/2ndharvest  2nd Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara & San Mateo Counties
http://twitter.com/ACFB Atlanta Community Food Bank
http://twitter.com/arfoodbank   Arkansas Foodbank Network
http://twitter.com/BayAreaFoodBank Bay Area Food Bank
http://twitter.com/brfoodbank    Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank
http://twitter.com/CAFB Capital Area Food Bank of Texas, Inc.
http://twitter.com/CareandShareFB  Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado
http://twitter.com/CentralILFoodbk   Central IL Foodbank
http://twitter.com/centralpafb Central Pennsylvania Food Bank
http://twitter.com/CFBFresno  Community Food Bank, Fresno, CA
http://twitter.com/chattfood Chattanooga Area Food Bank
http://twitter.com/CityHarvest   City Harvest   New York,NY
http://twitter.com/CleveFoodbank Cleveland Foodbank, Inc.
http://twitter.com/CommFoodBankNJ Community Food Bank of New Jersey
http://twitter.com/CTFoodBank Connecticut Food Bank
http://twitter.com/CVFBFeedMore Central Virginia Foodbank, Inc.
http://twitter.com/DailyBread Daily Bread Food Bank, Miami
http://twitter.com/eifoodbank Eastern Illinois Foodbank, Urbana
http://twitter.com/FeedAmericaWI America's Second Harvest of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
http://twitter.com/feedingwestmich Feeding America West Michigan Food Bank
http://twitter.com/FoodBank4NYC Food Bank For New York City
http://twitter.com/foodbankccs Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano
http://twitter.com/FoodBankCENC Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, Raleigh
http://twitter.com/FoodBankNENY Regional Food Bank Northeastern New York
http://twitter.com/FoodBankofCC Food Bank of Corpus Christi
http://twitter.com/FoodBankofDE Food Bank of Delaware, Newark
http://twitter.com/foodbankrgv Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley, Inc.
http://twitter.com/foodbankrockies Food Bank of the Rockies, Denver
http://twitter.com/FoodbankSBC Foodbank of Santa Barbara County
http://twitter.com/foodbanksj       Food Bank of South Jersey
http://twitter.com/FoodBankSTier Food Bank of the Southern Tier, Elmira, NY
http://twitter.com/FoodBkNIndiana Food Bank of Northern Indiana
http://twitter.com/FoodDepository Greater Chicago Food Depository
http://twitter.com/FoodLinkNY   Foodlink Food Bank, Rochester, NY
http://twitter.com/FoodShuttle Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, Raleigh, NC
http://twitter.com/FreestoreFB Freestore FoodBank, Cincinnati
http://twitter.com/Gleaners Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan
http://twitter.com/GleanersFBIndy Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana, Inc.
http://twitter.com/Gr8BosFoodBank The Greater Boston Food Bank
http://twitter.com/growthefoodbank Capital Area Food Bank, DC
http://twitter.com/HarvestersORG Harvesters - The Community Food Network, Kansas City
http://twitter.com/HoustonFoodBank Houston Food Bank
http://twitter.com/hpfoodbank High Plains Food Bank, Amarillo
http://twitter.com/lafoodbank Los Angeles Regional Foodbank
http://twitter.com/LCFBFoodFIght Lowcountry Food Bank, Charleston, SC
http://twitter.com/MANNAFoodBank MANNA FoodBank, Ashville NC
http://twitter.com/mfbn Montana Food Bank Network
http://twitter.com/Mid_OHFoodbank Mid-Ohio FoodBank
http://twitter.com/missingmeals  Second Harvest Heartland
http://twitter.com/NEILB Northern Illinois Food Bank
http://twitter.com/NNFoodBank Food Bank of Northern Nevada
http://twitter.com/northernlakesfb Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank
http://twitter.com/ntfb North Texas Food Bank
http://twitter.com/nwncfoodbank   Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina
http://twitter.com/onecanonedollar  Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina
http://twitter.com/OreFoodBankFA Oregon Food Bank
http://twitter.com/ozksfoodharvest Ozarks Food Harvest, Springfield, MO
http://twitter.com/PghFoodBank Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank
http://twitter.com/refb Redwood Empire Food Bank, Santa Rosa, CA
http://twitter.com/rfbo Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma (OKC)
http://twitter.com/RIFoodBank Rhode Island Community Food Bank, Providence
http://twitter.com/safoodbank San Antonio Food Bank
http://twitter.com/SecondHarvestOH   Second Harvest Ohio
http://twitter.com/semofoodbank  Southeast Missouri Food Bank
http://twitter.com/sffoodbank San Francisco Food Bank
http://twitter.com/SHFBofMidTN Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee
http://twitter.com/SoTxFoodBank South Texas Food Bank, Laredo
http://twitter.com/SPFB South Plains Food Bank, Lubbock
http://twitter.com/stlfoodbank St. Louis Area Foodbank
http://twitter.com/StMarysFoodBank St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance, Phoenix
http://twitter.com/TAFoodbank Tarrant Area Food Bank, Ft. Worth
http://twitter.com/threesquareLV Three Square Food Bank, Las Vegas
http://twitter.com/UnitedFoodBank United Food Bank, Mesa AZ
http://twitter.com/utahfoodbank Utah Food Bank Services, Salt Lake City
http://twitter.com/VermontFoodbank Vermont Foodbank, Inc., South Barre
http://twitter.com/WeldFoodBank Weld Food Bank, Greeley, CO
http://twitter.com/WestOhioFB West Ohio Food Bank
http://twitter.com/culinarschmooze Culinary Schmooze
http://twitter.com/schoolsserve The National School Food Drive
http://twitter.com/famtofamily Family to Family

Twitter Lists--Hunger Relief (one click following)
http://twitter.com/sharestrength/lists Share Our Strength (@ShareStrength) is doing a wonderful job of categorizing and listing its stakeholders involved in hunger relief on the Twitter List tool. 
http://twitter.com/TysonFoods/hunger-communityh

 

Participants in the WeCanEndThis Cause Lab

By Ed Nicholson
On Monday, I had the privilege of sitting in on the first WeCanEndThis Cause Lab, a day-long think tank at the annual South by Southwest Interactive Festival in Austin, focused on arriving at new solutions to the problem of hunger in the U.S.   Big vision guy, Scott Henderson conceived the event, and assembled it with with CauseShift partners Anne Bertelsen and Brian Reich, along with an all-star cast of non-profit and corporate partners (full-disclosure: Tyson Foods was a partner).

Altogether, the event drew a couple hundred participants throughout the day: a diverse bunch that included not only professional hunger fighters, but social good advocates from outside the cause, and socially-minded techsters.  A full overview of who, what and how can be found at WeCanEndThis.com so I won't go into detail here.  Go check it out; it was a very interesting day.

Here's why I think the event was a worthwhile investment of all of the participants' time and resources:

• If hunger is to be "solved,"  (and I think all of us in the game hold great hope that's something that can occur), it won't happen because one organization makes it happen.  And it won't happen if all of us keep a singleminded focus on our own  organizational objectives (as worthy as they might be).   It's going to take a collaborative effort among every single person and group now out there working on the cause.  It's going to take competitors working together.  That happened here,  with Share Our Strength and Feeding America coming to the table, as well as Tyson and ConAgra, and others in the  consulting, tech and social services sectors who might otherwise compete for resources or share of mind. I think a lot of smart people have come to that realization, and you're beginning to see more collaboration than ever before.
• The solution (or more likely, solutions) to hunger won't come solely from those currently leading the fight. It's going to take more people; intelligent, innovative people; people totally unencumbered by a "been there, done that, won't work" mindset.  It's going to take more and more people who, in studying the problem, arrive at the gut check that hunger is in every community, and in some way, affects every single one of us.  In this one place, on this one day, I hope there were some new converts, who will stay involved as WeCanEndThis embarks upon the rest of a year-long noble experiment.

By Ed Nicholson

Last fall, Tongal.com and Tyson Foods announced a collaborative effort to raise awareness for hunger relief in America through a video contest. Thanks to Lorraine Arromando’s video highlighting Cheverus High School’s annual Thanksgiving food drive, Tyson Foods donated more than 35,000 pounds of chicken to the Good Shepherd Food-Bank this morning. This is the first of the five winning videos that will receive Tyson donations to their local Feeding America food banks.  We'll be featuring the other videos as we make food donations in their areas.

I know there's a lot of concern about the fact that volunteer corps are aging; some wonder as to whether the next generation of hunger fighters will step up.

Here's something to give you hope.

 

High School Students in Las Vegas Fighting Hunger for Three Square Food Bank

By Ed Nicholson

Take a look around food banks, food pantries and hunger relief organizations, and you'll see some phenomenal volunteers; engaged, dedicated, selfless, energetic, intelligent, passionate. 

Problem is, a whole lot of these volunteers are, shall we say, of "a certain age." (And I can use the categorization because I'm every bit of "a certain age" myself).  Not as many younger folks. 

So what's going to happen when those in our generation retire from volunteering? 

For the past three years, at Tyson Foods, we've been piloting The Student Food Drive with selected Feeding America food banks across the country.  This effort engages high school students in raising funds and food for their local food bank. It requires a coordinated effort among schools, food banks, and local sponsors, but done right, the results are phenomenal:  Students become aware of hunger in their own community, while developing leadership skills.  If the food bank makes the effective connections, they have stakeholders for life. 

In 2009, these food banks/ communities are joining others who have come on board to do Student Food Drives in the past three years:

Southeast Missouri Food Bank   Cape Girardeau, Missouri
Lowcountry Food Bank     Charleston, South Carolina
Mountaineer Food Bank    Gassaway, West Virginia
Channel One Food Bank    Rochester, Minnesota
Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana     Muncie, Indiana
Three Square Food Bank       Las Vegas, Nevada

So what are you doing in your community to "rejuvenate" the pool of enaged hunger fighters?

 

Tony and Dolly Ellis

Tyson started working in hunger relief in 2000.  We were pretty proud of ourselves when we first got into fight against hunger.  After all, we were donating several million pounds of much-needed protein a year to hunger relief.  

But it didn't take long for us to get humbled. 

First off, our donations, as large as they were, didn't begin to make a dent in the enormous need that exists.

And when we started working around people who were involved in hunger relief, we started hearing some phenomenal stories of self-sacrifice and determination about people on the front lines of hunger.  We donate a small portion of our production to hunger.  We were meeting people who were devoting large portions of their lives, often their own resources to feed those in need.

That's why we created the Hunger All-Stars program.  You can go here and nominate any person or group of people you believe might be doing a good job in the fight against hunger in your community.  We'll put their nomination online.  You can see the nominations here.  Once a month, we'll pick a Hunger All-Star of the Month and donate a truckload of food in their honor to their local Feeding America food bank. 

This month, Tony and Dolly Ellis from New Orleans were selected as Hunger All-Stars of the month.  Read their inspiring story here. Last week Tyson donated a truckload of food in their honor to theSecond Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans.

Do you know a hard-working hunger fighter.  Nominate them here.

 

By Ed Nicholson

At Tyson Foods, we’re frequently asked why so many of our in-kind donations go to Feeding America food banks.  After all, there any number of very worthy recipients of our products, at both the local and national levels, who could channel everything we donate to people in need.

Here are some of the reasons we choose to support Feeding America with our in-kind donations:

The Feeding America network of food banks covers every county in the United States.  It is a well-designed, well-run food distribution network, that specifically addresses the needs of the 34 million people in the U.S. at risk of hunger.

Each food bank has a robust network of agencies who can guarantee the food is distributed fairly. Agencies are required to submit evidence that the food they receive goes specifically to hunger relief programs, feeding people who really need it without discriminating requirements.  

Food safety is at the forefront.  Feeding America has a food safety certification program to ensure each food bank is handling and distributing the food properly.  In turn, the food banks ensure their distributing agencies also place a high value on food safety. This is especially important in a world where food safety is everyone’s responsibility, from farm to fork. 

The food will not end up back on the market; no matter what.  When we donate products, we want to make certain they don’t end up back in commerce, competing with our products in retail stores. Believe it or not, this has occurred.  This is important to the retail stores to whom we sell.  Us, too.

Feeding America, through their national organization, encourages thought leadership and best practices among its member food banks.  Examples: Backpack programs, which send food home on the weekend with kids at-risk of hunger.  A Washington, D.C.-based office of hunger experts who advocate on The Hill for legislation that addresses hunger in the U.S.

Feeding America has the support of national sponsors, who are committed to the sustainability of the network. 

We’re often approached for donations by individual agencies at the local level. We subsequently encourage them to become members of the Feeding America food bank serving their area, ensuring them sustainable access to a consistent supply of quality food.
 

 

 

 

By Ed Nicholson

At Tyson, we get frequent requests for food donations from organizations claiming to be "food banks." Upon further query it often turns out that many of the groups--as worthy as their efforts are--are not food banks. There exists some confusion over the use of the term that needs to be cleared up.
A food bank is a non-profit organization that warehouses and distributes food to a network of local agencies, who in turn distribute to individuals in need.
Food banks receive food and other resources from a number of different sources, including food producers, grocery stores, individual donors and organizational food drives. Many food banks are also official distributors for USDA and FEMA government emergency food programs.
Food banks typically have a network of non-profit organizations to which they distribute, which can include food pantries, feeding sites, and shelters. Quite often, this is where the confusion arises. Food pantries are not "food banks" (even though some food banks operate food pantries and mobile food distribution systems).
The agencies are where the rubber meets the road. They distribute the food to families and individuals in need.
Tyson Foods is a proud supporter of the Feeding America Network, which includes more than 200 member food banks, serves every county in the U.S., and distributes more than 2 billion pounds of food relief each year.  95% of the food Tyson donates goes to Feeding America food banks. There are some very compelling, specific reasons our company chooses to partner with Feeding America. I'll get into those in a later post.
The U.S., due in large part to the effectiveness of the Feeding America and its network of food banks has the most efficient emergency food distribution system in the world.
 

By Ed Nicholson

One of our goals with this site is to be a positive force in helping bring the discussion of hunger online, creating awareness for the issue and those instrumental in the fight against hunger.
When we came to the issue nine years ago, we found a lively discussion already occurring among a passionate community of those involved in hunger relief.  
We believe there's still enormous upside potential to bring that discussion online via social networking tools, and to expand the community of decidated hunger fighters well beyond where it is today.
Fortunately, there are some hunger relief communicators blazing the trail. They're using the tools, and most importantly, they're engaging in two-way conversations, not simply broadcasting their messages.   If you're involved in the issue, these are people and groups you'll probably want to follow, if you aren't already.

Share Our Strength
Billy Shore, Founder and CEO of Share Our Strength, has always been a tremendous communicator.  Share Our Strength now has Jeff Wiedner doing an exemplary job of heading up online communications, using all of the  popular social networking tools, including a Twitter account   Facebook cause pages,   LinkedIn,  a very nicely-done YouTube channel, and a Flickr account.   In addition to Jeff, who runs the organization's Twitter account  Billy Shore, Eric Herboso, and Suzy Twohig also have Twitter accounts.

Feeding America
Feeding America has a very well-produced YouTube channel, a quickly-growing Twitter account and active Facebook  and MySpace  pages.  Feeding America's existing large and active community, enhanced by strong corporate support ensures that pretty much any tool the organization adopts will rapidly gain an active following.

Capital Area Food Bank of Texas (Austin)
This organization was early to the game and remains a leader in their use of social media.  In addition to authoring for their blog, CEO, David Davenport; VP of Communications Kerri Qunell; Advocacy and Online Marketing Director, Lisa Goddard, and several others from the food bank engage regularly with stakeholders through a number of different channels, including Twitter and Facebook accounts.   YouTube, Facebook page, Flickr.   Definitely some best practices here.

Food Bank for New York City
A relatively new blog shows bright promise as the centerpiece of this leading food bank's social media efforts (they're showing true social media savvy by asking readers to help name their blog )  Additionally the food bank has a Facebook cause page, as well as a YouTube Channel and Twitter Account  Online Communications Manager Daniel Buckley does a good job of coordinating social media efforts and using the tools to engage.

North Texas Food Bank (Dallas)
Another great example of a Feeding America food bank using a variety of social networking tools, including a blog,  a Facebook page, a  MySpace page and a YouTube channel.   Mark Armstrong manages the food bank's Twitter account.

Texas Food Bank Network
A coalition of Feeding America food banks in Texas, this organization runs an advocacy blog , as well as  a Twitter account . 

Community Cooperative Ministeries Incorporated
This Fort Myers, Florida agency is doing a great job of creating hyperlocal awareness, focused on challenges of hunger and poverty in their area. They have a Twitter account and are using new media tools, including  Pitch Engine's social media news release service to create awareness of  their activities, as well as using vimeo to post online video. Their CEO, Sarah Owen (who guest-posted here last week), is also a Twitterer.  Take a look at their campaign designed to raise awareness of kids at risk of hunger over the weekends.

No doubt there are many other great social media efforts occuring among hunger organizations around the country. Let me know what's going on in your community, and we'll feature it here.  The goal is to connect.