Feed SoCal Event Raises over a Half-Million Meals for FOOD Share of Ventura County

VENTURA, Calif. - July 15, 2016 - PRLog -- The community came together in a big way for the Feed SoCal "Stuff-A-Truck" event at Vons in Simi Valley on Friday June 17^th.  The one-day event, hosted by ABC 7 and FOOD Share of Ventura County, raised 523,133 meals for food-insecure residents across the county.

The "Stuff-A-Truck" event was part of ABC Channel 7's 5^th annual Feed SoCal initiative and encouraged locals to bring non-perishable food items or cash donations to the Vons of Simi Valley parking lot to help feed the 1 in 6 Ventura County residents who still experiences food insecurity.  Shoppers also had the opportunity to make a donation by purchasing pre-filled bags of non-perishable food items from Vons for $5 through June 28^th.  The month-long initiative provides millions of meals to food banks across Southern California.

Dole Packaged Foods, led by President Brad Bartlett, made a 22,000 pound food donation at the event, and contributed an additional $50,000 in cash to FOOD Share.  "Dole is happy to support FOOD Share with its nutritious foods, but we know it also takes significant funds to support the operational expenses of the organization," said Bartlett.  "We're grateful to Bettaway Trucking for partnering with us to deliver our food donation today, and we're proud to do our part to feed the county we call home."

Longtime FOOD Share partner Farmers Insurance also made a significant cash donation of $50,000.  Mission Avocado added $25,000 to the effort, and Kirby Subaru was on-hand to stuff a car full of $500 in pre-filled grocery bags.  Bank of America provided the volunteer-power for the day, with over 40 team members on site to assist with the festivities.

"Tackling hunger is a critical first step in helping people achieve financial stability, which is why more than 40 of our employees participated in the Stuff a Truck event," said Diana Gleason, Bank of America Ventura & Santa Barbara Market President. "This volunteer event provides an opportunity to provide healthy food to hungry families and individuals in Ventura County."

"We're grateful to our local partners and ABC7 for helping to raise the food and funds needed to close the meal gap for the 1 in 6 Ventura County residents who just need a little help to make ends meet each month," said Bonnie Atmore, President and CEO of FOOD Share of Ventura County.  "Solving hunger is a county-wide effort and we couldn't do it without the generous support of these organizations."

About FOOD Share:

More than 35 years ago, eight citizens performed a good deed by distributing food to those who were in need underneath a Ventura bridge. The early philanthropic movement quickly formed into what is now Ventura County's regional food bank, FOOD Share, which has grown from serving a few hundred hungry people per month to 74,500 people. Today, staff and volunteers distribute more than 12 million pounds of food annually from two warehouses; more than 200 partner agencies, which include neighborhood and church food distributions and soup kitchens; as well as hunger assistance programs. FOOD Share's programs provide healthy nutrition and education to children, families and seniors, which include: Kids' Farmers Market, SENIOR Share, Nutrition Education, Community Market, SoCal Gas CARE Program and more. A 501(c)3 non-profit organization, FOOD Share is a member of the Feeding America network, the nation's largest hunger-relief organization.

In 2016, FOOD Share is rallying the community behind a viral initiative encouraging the public, local businesses, major corporations and community leaders and stakeholders to help combat hunger through an outreach campaign called Share16. The Share16 Challenge asks the community to share ways in which they support FOOD Share by documenting their experiences and efforts on social media with the #Share16 hashtag.

For more information about FOOD Share, visit www.foodshare.com. Find us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/FoodShareofVenturaCounty) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/FoodshareVC).