www.feedingsouthdakota.org

Sioux FallS - 605.335.0364 3511 North First avenue Sioux Falls, SD 57104

RapiD City - 605.348.2689 814 North Maple avenue Rapid City, SD 57701

pieRRe - 605.494.3663 2900 airport Road pierre, SD 57501

Winter 2012

Partners Against Hunger Serving South DakotaOn Monday Dec. 5, 2011 formal action was taken to form Partners Against Hunger, a nonprofit organization whose mission is “Strengthening and uniting communities that all may be fed.”

What started as an office meeting between USDA Rural Development Under Secretary Dallas Tonsager and Rev. David Zellmer, Bishop of the SD Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America regarding food ministry and feeding the hungry, has flourished into meetings of constituents across the state of South Dakota. Four meetings have been held since midsummer.

This diverse group, made up of representatives from state and federal agencies, three denominations, and folks serving in food pantry and feeding ministries from across South Dakota, took time to get to know each other and the available resources. “I am excited about the dedication and commitment of the people representing the various organizations and agencies that are coming together to end hunger in South Dakota,” says Bishop Zellmer.

The group is eager to begin implementing their ideas and strategies, though recognizing

additional collaboration is needed to increase awareness, provide research, educate people concerning the programs and resources already available, and to gather and share success stories and ideas from across the state. At an earlier meeting they were bold enough to say they want to help make healthy food accessible to everyone in South Dakota by 2015.

The next meeting of Partners Against Hunger will be on Tuesday Jan. 24 from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at SD Housing Development in Pierre. People interested in attending should contact Karen Rollag at SD Synod, ELCA, 605.212.5441, or krollag@sdsynod.org.

Upcoming EventsRapid City KOTA Care & Share Food & Wine Festival: April 16-21 Contact Monica Leitheiser at Monica@feedingsouthdakota.org for more ticket information

Rapid City “Souper Bowl” ChallengeRegister your church today to participate by contacting Pastor Steven

Lindsay at pastorsteve@calvarybaptistrapidcity.com. Call Monica Leitheiser at 605.348.2689 or email her at Monica@feedingsouthdakota.org to set up barrel delivery and pickup dates. Donations of canned or dry soup will be collected and recorded until February 26.

National Letter Carrier Food Drive: May 12 Watch for a postcard from the NALC the week of May 7 to let you know which Postmasters are participating.

Wisdom of George McGovern On Dec. 2, 2011, Senator George McGovern was hospitalized after falling and lacerating his forehead outside Wesleyan University near his home in Mitchell. According to reports, he was “bleeding profusely,” but remained conscious the entire time while a helicopter took him to Sioux Falls for treatment where he was listed in guarded condition. When dedicated followers called the hospital to ask how to get flowers

to McGovern, he replied that he would rather see monetary donations go to Feeding South Dakota. We are deeply thankful for George’s compassion and lifelong mission to end hunger in South Dakota along with every other state in this nation as well as the underdeveloped countries abroad. In honor of George’s compassion and generosity, we dedicate this issue to him.

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Board of DirectorsJay Shultz, President, Lynn,Jackson,Shultz & LebrunRebekah Cradduck, Vice President, SD Association of Healthcare OrganizationsConnie Halverson, Secretary, Delta Dental of South DakotaRay Thompson, Treasurer, Thompson Financial Services Greg Robinson, Argus LeaderJim Gray, K & J TruckingBob Miller, Bank WestJohn Hinrichs, State of South DakotaButch Abernathie, Health Concepts, Urgent CareDick Birath, First PREMIER/PREMIER BankcardTed Pins, Retired BusinessmanCrissy Sieber, Good Earth Natural FoodsPat Mahon, SD School of Mines & TechnologyLarry Riddle, Riddle’s Group

StaffSioux Falls StaffMatt Gassen, Executive DirectorKay Torney, Eastern Operations ManagerJim Dawson, Food Sourcing SpecialistDave Otteman, Finance AssistantJennifer Stensaas, Fund Development AssociateAllison Struck, BackPack Program CoordinatorDick Torney, Office StaffSteve Rohwedder, Warehouse ManagerJason Heintz, Warehouse StaffJon Schoen, Warehouse StaffLori Gerads, Delivery DriverDarin Wales, Delivery Driver

Sioux Falls Food PantrySteven Dahlmeier, Pantry ManagerMary Ysbrand, Administrative AssistantKerry Keefer, Pantry StaffLisa Charles, Pantry StaffNate Tuenge, Delivery Driver

Rapid City StaffMonica Leitheiser, Western Operations Manager Tony Walters, Warehouse ManagerBrad Ham, Delivery DriverRyan Chocholousek, BackPack Program CoordinatorLarry Welke, Warehouse StaffRichard Sibal, Warehouse StaffLeigh Gibson, Pantry StaffMargaret Aldren, Pantry Staff

Pierre StaffRuss Hofeldt, Central Operations ManagerTravis Thompson, Warehouse StaffCrayton Bouchie, Delivery Driver

Have you ever felt like “the faster you go the farther behind you get”? Well if you have, don’t feel like you are alone. As I recently took some time to reflect on all that had happened and what Feeding South Dakota had accomplished in 2011, it was sobering. It was a year filled with many milestones, the least of which was a slowly recovering economy that created a greater need for food assistance for many families across this state. Couple this demand with the lingering threats

of funding cuts to federal food and nutrition programs, and the leveling off of donations from manufacturers, and we found ourselves facing the somewhat perfect storm in the fight against hunger. Again it left me wondering if we had been able to keep up with this demand.

As I looked to find the answer to that question what I found was that Feeding South Dakota had in fact been able to keep pace with the demand. But how did we do it? It was through the hard work of a resourceful and dedicated staff. From our distribution sites in Sioux Falls, Pierre and Rapid City, this amazing staff increased our overall product distribution to 12 million pounds. That is a 12.5 percent increase from 2010 and a record year distribution for our organization. In a year where we saw a record number of people seeking food assistance, the food pantry staff in Rapid City and Sioux Falls provided emergency food assistance to an average of 6,150 people each month in 2011, with 43 percent (2,645) of those being children. Our BackPack Program faced some significant funding challenges at the start of the 2011 – 2012 school year. But a “never say die” attitude from our program coordinators and an outpouring of generosity from so many enabled us to again provide 5,000 weekly food packages to children in 57 different schools. These backpacks are critical to filling the weekend hunger gap that exists when schools are closed and there is no access to the school meal programs.

It was these examples and many more that ultimately led me to the realization that even though we may have been able to keep pace with last year’s increased demand, we also have a lot more work to do. For there are still children without enough to eat on weekends, seniors who choose to pay bills rather than buy groceries, and families that have to rob monies from the food budget to pay other bills. It is knowing these situations are a reality that motivates us to do more, and with the continued support and prayers of so many, we will continue the work that we do. We believe that Feeding South Dakota is an organization that truly belongs to the people of South Dakota and that we have been entrusted by all of you to care for those that need our services. For it is through the sharing of your time and treasures that the work that we do is all made possible. We are continually humbled by your generosity and wish to thank you on behalf of all those that are provided food and hope. The new year will undoubtedly come with some of the same challenges as well as a few new ones. But together we will work tirelessly to provide food assistance to as many of our fellow South Dakotans as we can.

Matt GassenExecutive Director

Director’s Report

Ron Fowler, a consultant for South Dakota Sportsmen Against Hunger, delivers donated ground venison to Jim Dawson from Feeding South Dakota. South Dakota Sportsmen Against Hunger donates approximately 100,000 lbs. of ground venison and several thousand pheasants each year. Also this year for the first time ever, because of a joint program with the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, South Dakota Sportsmen Against Hunger was able to donate approximately 3,000 lbs. of ground wild goose harvested in a special early season.

Sportsman Against Hunger Shortly after moving from Aberdeen to

Pierre in May 2010, Duane Hettinger read an article in the newspaper about Feeding South Dakota. Duane admits he had never heard of Feeding South Dakota before the article, but thought what was going on here at the food bank was a good thing. He knew from living in Aberdeen that there was definitely a need for food in that community.

Duane had retired from State Farm Insurance Company in Aberdeen before moving to Pierre to be closer to his son that has a farm north of Pierre. Now that he was retired, and after reading the newspaper article about Feeding South Dakota, Duane wanted to know what he could do to help. After speaking with the food bank staff in Pierre, he was told that there was a need for volunteer truck riders to ride in the truck on the monthly routes and assist in the delivery of food throughout central South Dakota. For just over a year now, Duane Hettinger has been helping to deliver food to those in need from the warehouse in Pierre. Duane says, “I didn’t really realize the magnitude of the need for food, especially in the smaller communities of central South Dakota.”

Duane doesn’t stop at just volunteering at the food bank every month. Duane volunteers to drive the DAV van to Sturgis, SD on a monthly basis to get veterans to their needed doctor’s appointments. He also helps facilitate a pheasant hunt for disabled individuals during hunting season.

We commend you Duane for all that you do to help us in our fight against hunger in South Dakota!

Volunteer Spotlight

Pierre, SD; Left, Volunteer Duane Hettinger; Right, Delivery driver Crayton Bouchie

Rapid City Food Pantry

Personal Story from the

Jay & Lisa are the parents of four young boys. Lisa’s job ended unexpectedly about six months ago. She is now a part time student and still looking for employment. Jay normally works full time, but due to a neck injury he is currently on light duty and unable to work a 40 hour week.

These unexpected events have made what was already a tight budget even smaller. Lisa explains that she will sometimes come to the pantry before she goes grocery shopping. Whatever she is able to get here she won’t have to purchase and can use that money toward one of the other bills.

Lisa is optimistic about finding a job and her husband recovering fully from his injury, but also feels a sense of relief knowing that until they are back on their feet she can come to the pantry and not have to worry as much about the next meal for her family.

continued from front coverMcGovern The following is an excerpt from “The food/hunger Wisdom of George McGovern” that appeared on the Hunger Solutions News website. George McGovern’s impact on food policy could have been greater, but not through more effort on his part. The 1972 presidential candidate, now 89, was a bomber pilot at the end of World War II when the decision was made to distribute remaining medicine and food to Europeans before heading home. “We were feeding our former enemies two days after bombing them,” he told me over breakfast last week, two days before falling and being hospitalized. “It was an unprecedented gesture of good will.”

The experience set the tone for an optimistic and straightforward approach to food that lasts to this day. McGovern, of course, is better known for his “socialist” politics and decisive loss to Tricky Dick Nixon than for his food policy. Yet in 1972, in a progressive bi-partisan move the likes of which we may never see again, he joined Hubert Humphrey and Bob Dole (who is starting to look downright sane, for a Republican) in drafting the bill that created WIC, the program that supports women, infants and children and improves the nutrition of about nine million people in the United States.

To read the article in its entirety, visit http://www.hungersolutions.org/newsroom/foodhunger-wisdom-george-mcgovern.

During my first week employed with Feeding South Dakota, a school counselor called one afternoon with an emergent need. He asked me if I might be able to supply any food for one of his students….today. Knowing that there was a waiting list to participate in the BackPack Program was a real concern for me. The counselor went on to say that this young lady had arrived to town just a

few days ago on a bus and that her parents were supposed to meet her here, but had not arrived yet. She was currently living in a one-bedroom apartment with six others that she had met. She had no transportation to and from school, and nothing to eat. I informed him that we would be at the school in thirty minutes with some food. I arrived at the school with several boxes of food and spoke with the girl briefly, assuring her that if she needed further assistance, she could count on Feeding South Dakota. I also gave the young student contact information for other types of support services. The school made sure the food was delivered to her “home” and purchased her a bus pass.

Feeding South Dakota has long provided assistance to non-profit agencies (through our Food Bank) as well as individuals and families in need by using the Food Pantry. While these programs are a daily part of our operations, it is comforting to know that Feeding South Dakota also has the flexibility to react to dire situations at a moment’s notice. Although new to me, this spirit of reaching out to our neighbors in need has existed throughout the years here. I am just happy to have joined the family.

Here are some email quotes from our schools:

“It’s amazing what you guys do. One of the teachers at the Middle School said that the only day one of their student smiles is the day he gets his food bag.”

“I have several kids check with me at the beginning of the week to make sure the food bags will be handed out at the end of the week. NO ONE forgets to come down to my office at 2:30 on Fridays or whenever the last day of school is in session for that week. One boy will tell me “he will see me on Friday” every time he sees me in the hallway or when I come to his classroom.”

“Thanks, Ryan, we are very lucky to live in a community where the need is recognized and those who can donate do so generously. It has always amazed me!”

Agency Spotlight First United Methodist ChurchPierre, SD

Every Wednesday evening, Jerry Ferguson, along with his wife Mary, and a few other members of Pierre’s First United Methodist Church, serve about 120 hot meals to people in need. “Without the wonderful service we get from the food bank, it would be very difficult. We try to serve a well balanced meal and the food bank makes that possible.” They have some homeless people, and some that are just going through a tough time that are fed at their weekly meal. Jerry says, “We look at it as a ministry to serve our fellow man.” Jerry and his wife Mary especially love seeing the kids on Wednesday evenings and knowing that they are getting a good meal.

The First United Methodist church also gave away turkeys to families in need that they received from Feeding South Dakota in Pierre during the food bank’s turkey drive prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. One family in particular said that if it wasn’t for the turkey they received from the church, they would not have been able to give their children a Thanksgiving dinner.

Thank you Jerry and Mary for all that you do for the community of Pierre, and thank you for helping us in the fight against hunger!

Personal Reflectionby Ryan Chocholousek