This holiday season, team members from Beacon Pointe headquarters braved the rainy Southern California roads and flash flood warnings to take part in our last Day of Service of the 2018 calendar year at the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County.

Contrary to popular belief, food banks are not just for distributing canned and non-perishable food items. Our employees spent the afternoon at the Second Harvest Food Distribution Center along with other community volunteers moving, sorting and bagging fresh produce. Second Harvest works directly with corporate wholesalers to collect fresh produce donations that supports a balanced diet and overall health for all those supported by Second Harvest. That day, we assisted in preparing 25,000 pounds of produce to be delivered to emergency food assistance programs across the county. Our work was a small contribution to the 2 million pounds of that food that flows through the Food Distribution Center monthly.

With the help of supporters and volunteers (over 40% of the work hours are from volunteers!), the Second Harvest Food Bank works through a network of more than 200 non-profit partner agencies and programs to provide wholesome food and fresh produce to more than 250,000 hungry children, seniors and families in Orange County every month. They also support specialty programs such as mobile and permanent school pantries for kids and a mobile food market that drives to senior citizens living in assistance centers and low-income apartment complexes.

Last year Second Harvest provided a record 25.1 million meals for the hungry. While they have made great strides in reducing hunger in Orange County, Second Harvest developed an aggressive strategic plan aimed at pursuing their Bold Goal of ending hunger in Orange County. They have set their sights on increasing the number of meals provided annually from 20 million to 30 million by 2021, closing the meal gap and ensuring that anyone who is hungry can easily access food in their time of need.

Beacon Pointe is proud to invest in our community and to have made a contribution to Second Harvest’s important community mission. To find out how to get involved with Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, click here.