Big Congrats! Annual Holiday Food Drive Totals Equate To 4 Million Meals

Second Harvest Food Bank today released its astounding Holiday Food Drive totals -- 4,069,901 meals -- at a conference at Dominican Hospital that included Willy Elliott-McCrea, Chief Executive Officer of Second Harvest and Nanette Mickiewicz, MD, Dominican Hospital President, along with Holiday Food Drive Co-Chairs, Hilary Bryant, former Santa Cruz City Councilwoman and Sarah Latham, Vice Chancellor, Business & Administrative Services, UC Santa Cruz.

All donations will be used to feed people through Second Harvest’s network of 200 agencies and programs in Santa Cruz County.

“I want to thank Dignity Health and everyone in our community for supporting the work we do through your generous donations,” said Elliott-McCrea. “The need is with us all year long and together we are helping to ensure that everyone, regardless of their age or circumstance, has access to healthy food and other resources that will bring them in from the fringes.”

“Food insecurity is the primary reason why low-income children and their families suffer from obesity, diabetes and other nutrition-related diseases,” added Elliott-McCrea. “Our goal is to create a brighter future for the next generation by ensuring that no child has their life opportunities limited due to malnutrition.”

“The importance of Second Harvest’s work cannot be overstated, both during the holidays and all year long,” said Nanette Mickiewicz, MD, Dominican Hospital President. “We are thrilled with the success of their 2014 donation campaign. Dignity Health Dominican Hospital is committed to supporting Second Harvest in its mission to end hunger within our community and improve the quality of life for our residents.”

Photo from left: Lisa Allyn – Second Harvest; Dr. Nanette Mickiewicz – Dominican Hospital President; Willy Elliott-McCrae – Second Harvest CEO; Hilary Bryant – HFD Co-Chair; Sarah Latham – HFD Co-Chair; Martina O’Sullivan – Dominican; Bryn Calderon – Second Harvest; Bly Morales – Second Harvest; Bob Norton – Second Harvest Chairman of the Board; Cathy Hsu – Second Harvest. Photo credit: Mike Lee of Dominican Hospital.

About Dominican Hospital

Dignity Health Dominican Hospital has been caring for the Santa Cruz County community for more than 70 years. Dominican offers emergency services and is a Certified Stroke Center and Chest Pain Center. Dominican’s services include the only comprehensive Cancer Center in Santa Cruz County, a Total Joint Replacement program, and the hospital is a leading provider of neurological services. Dominican regularly receives ‘A’ grades for hospital safety from Leapfrog Group, and has received national recognition for superior safety and quality from Healthgrades, a leading provider of comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals. Dominican also has received several awards for environmental excellence.

About Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County

Founded in 1972, Second Harvest Food Bank was the first food bank in California and the second in the nation. Our mission is to end hunger and malnutrition by educating and involving the community. For every $1 dollar donated, we can provide four healthy meals. Second Harvest is honored to receive a four-star rating from Charity Navigator in recognition of our effective stewardship.

Every action and every dollar makes a difference in the lives of our neighbors in need. Working together, we build stronger communities.

For more information: www.thefoodbank.org