Each day in our community, thousands of children go hungry. However, this summer, kids and families can help fight child hunger in Jacksonville through a fun, new fundraising campaign.

Second Harvest Food Bank of North Florida is teaming with local Panera Bread® bakery-cafes to fight child hunger in Jacksonville with their new Lemonade for Hunger Aid campaign.  The campaign begins Monday as Panera Bread presents Second Harvest with a $27,000 donation and an innovative community challenge that could raise thousands more to feed disadvantaged children in our community.

The kickoff event will feature the first of what organizers hope will be many Lemonade for Hunger Aid benefit lemonade stands throughout area neighborhoods this summer. A new website, www.Lemonade4HungerAid.com, explains how Panera Bread will match proceeds (up to $5,000) from the neighborhood lemonade stands to help Second Harvest fight hunger.As part of the campaign, Panera Bread has also pledged to donate $1 for each of its new frozen lemonade treats sold in their 12 Jacksonville area locations this summer. Proceeds will benefit Second Harvest’s Kids Cafe Summer Feeding Program, which serves more than 10,000 meals per week while children are out of school.

“Nearly half of all Jacksonville children rely on free or reduced lunch during the school year,” said Thomas Mantz, executive director of Second Harvest.  “Even mild malnutrition can have a negative impact on a child’s development, and our Kids Cafe Summer Feeding Program helps keep children healthy and nourished through the summer months.”

The kickoff event was held on Monday, June 8, at the Girls Inc. summer feeding site, which is supported by the Second Harvest Food Bank.

To learn more about how you can help, visit: www.lemonade4hungeraid.com

World Refugee Day
Saturday, June 20, 2009

The Jacksonville refugee community will gather for a local celebration of World Refugee Day on Saturday, June 20, at the Main Library in downtown Jacksonville. Other activities are planned throughout the week in conjunction with the annual celebration event - including a special movie screening of "The Lost Boys of Sudan" on Tuesday, June 16, at FCCJ; a Lunch and Learn event at the Women's Center of Jacksonville on Thursday, June 18; a picnic for the local refugee community on Friday, June 19, at Shepherd of the Woods Lutheran Church; and a naturalization ceremony prior to the celebration event on June 20.

World Refugee Day is a global occasion each year to remember the tens of millions of refugees and others who have been forcibly displaced, and to recall what makes them different. More than 50,000 refugees were resettled in the United States within the last year, including more than 300 by LSS in the Jacksonville area in the last 12 months.

25th Annual Empty Bowls Luncheon
Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009 - Prime Osborn Convention Center

The Empty Bowls Luncheon demonstrates community support for those who are coping with hunger in North Florida. Local celebrities (including media personalities) act as servers for the event. In addition to helping fight hunger, the luncheon presents a diverse program for all. Area students and senior citizen groups have created original, handcrafted ceramic bowls for every guest. Luncheon attendees are able to select just the right bowl to take home.

Local potters and ceramic artists have also donated their time and talents to create unique bowls. In addition, the Empty Bowls Luncheon includes celebrity signed bowls. Recognized personalities from the national and international stage have lent their names to the cause.

The annual Empty Bowls Luncheon has come to symbolize the beginning of Thanksgiving and the holiday season. We hope you join us for a memorable afternoon and help us fill the empty bowls in our community. All proceeds will benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank.

Second Harvest North Florida has served those in need since 1979. In Jacksonville, the majority of the people served by the Food Bank are children and senior citizens. The common misconception is that hunger is experienced only by the homeless; however, this population comprises less than 10 percent of the people helped by the Food Bank.

In an effort to meet growing needs in our community, special events like Empty Bowls help to promote hunger awareness, raise much-needed funds, and show support for one of the nation’s most solvable social issues – food insecurity.

Tickets to the event are $25, with various sponsorship levels also available.

For more information on any of our upcoming events please call Tia R. Ford, Special Events Coordinator, at 904.739.7074 or e-mail tford@lssjax.org.