9/9/05 - Katrina Relief

Society of St. Andrew in it for the long-haul

National hunger relief ministry finding and shipping food for Hurricane Katrina relief

BIG ISLAND, VA - "In the midst of the disaster that was and continues to be 'Hurricane Katrina,' the world is witnessing the hand of God at work providing for those who have lost so much," said Ken Horne, executive director of the Society of St. Andrew. "God is using people of faith and people of compassion to reach out to the hundreds of thousands of Americans who, in the aftermath of the storm, find themselves endeavoring to survive without benefit of homes, jobs, and family possessions."

With each passing day, more and more of these struggling people are being blessed with food, clothing, a place to stay, schools for their children, and even jobs. Until every one who has been adversely affected by this hurricane is back on an even keel, able to do for themselves and their families, there will be individuals, groups, churches, and organizations stepping up to help. "The Society of St. Andrew (SoSA) is one of those organizations that is in it for the long-haul," Horne explained.

The Society of St. Andrew, a national nonprofit hunger-relief ministry (Advance #801600), has mobilized its network of donors, volunteers, growers, wholesalers and food brokers, truckers and service agencies to find and deliver bulk quantities of fresh food to areas where the displaced have relocated. Mike Waldmann pointed out, "already SoSA has shipped over 320,000 pounds of fresh produce to help feed hurricane victims." Waldmann is director of operations for the Society of St. Andrew. "This food is providing nearly one million servings through shelters and other agencies that have geared up to serve the needs of the displaced," he said.

"With a quarter of a million evacuees welcomed into Texas cities and small communities," said Fred Fink regional director of SoSA's Texas office, "the need is great for resources to help them get their lives back together. The services to these brothers and sisters include meals." In the first two weeks of this crisis the Society of St. Andrew's Texas Gleaning Network found sources of fresh food both in Texas and beyond state borders. SoSA-TX distributed thousands of pounds of nutritious produce, including 80,000 pounds of Irish potatoes donated by Worley & McCullough growers in Monte Vista, CO, to agencies that are feeding the newcomers in Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Galveston, and Corpus Christi. "Gleanings From the Harvest," a cooperative local church organization and friends of SoSA, unloaded shipments for redistribution in Houston and towns along the Gulf Coast.

In Alabama, a 42,000-pound SoSA Potato Drop, sponsored by the University of West Alabama's Wesley Foundation and held in Livingston, provided food to western Alabama counties hit hard by the storm. Rachel Gonia, regional director of SoSA's Alabama office, said, "12,000 pounds of those spuds were picked up by disaster relief work teams and taken into Mississippi for use by agencies that are feeding the displaced there." In cooperation with two Birmingham agencies - Magic City Harvest and Christian Service Mission - Society of St. Andrew shipped another 42,000-pound load of donated food to Alabama's Pickens County.

Two truckloads of apples, donated by North Carolina and Pennsylvania growers, were shipped to the Mobile, AL area and Gulfport, MS for hurricane hunger relief. Marian Kelly, director of the Society of St. Andrew's Potato Project, said that three Baptist church groups, coordinated by Rev. Lee Adams of Little Rock Baptist Church in Gulfport, worked together to unload and distribute the fruit.
Meanwhile, volunteer gleaners in Georgia picked 3,500 pounds of watermelon and cantaloupe for distribution to areas of need in Alabama and Steve Hart, SoSA's Hunger Relief Advocate in North Georgia, helped set up a Red Cross shelter in the area. Muscadine grapes, tomatoes and okra were gleaned in Alabama and given to Red Cross shelters and other food agencies in Birmingham.

A truckload of sweet potatoes was donated to SoSA by a North Carolina grower. These were shipped to Alabama. 20,000 pounds of white potatoes and organic produce, plus a truck for delivery, were donated by North Carolina growers Richard and Laura Parker and taken to Raleigh where they were distributed by Inter Faith Food Shuttle, which is serving the displaced.

Gleaners in Western North Carolina gathered 1,000 pounds of nectarines, 1,500 pounds of peaches, and 80 pounds of fruit breads to feed evacuees housed at the Charlotte Coliseum.
When SoSA's Western North Carolina Program Coordinator, Marilyn Marks, and Linda Byrd, the Charlotte Area Gleaning Coordinator, went to Deal's Apple Orchard to pick up two pallets of apples, they met Gina Auten, a member of Denver United Methodist Church. Auten was there to see if she could get two pallets of apples to send to their partner church in Mississippi. Two church members had donated the use of a truck, a driver and gas. "It didn't take long to realize that the right thing to do was to give 'our' apples to Mississippi," said Marks. "We could get food for the Coliseum folks another way. But as we were leaving, I saw a forklift loaded with boxes headed toward me. The owner slowly slid off the seat and said, 'Well, I hate for you two to drive all this way and go home empty-handed. You think those folks at the Coliseum would eat some nectarines?'"

Kathy Forth, program coordinator in SoSA's Florida regional office, said, "Florida growers are just beginning to plant, so it will be some time before any excess crops will be available from here. But once it is, the majority of what our volunteers are able to salvage around the state will go to food banks serving the displaced in Florida and to other areas of need."
"If today someone receives a shirt, a toothbrush, a pair of shoes, a school backpack, chances are likely they will still have it tomorrow. But if they are fed a meal today, tomorrow they need another. The need for food is a daily one," said SoSA's communications director, Carol Breitinger. The Society of St. Andrew is reaching out to its donors for extra financial help to meet that ongoing need. The nonprofit organization has pledged to forego its already low 5.9% overhead cost and use 100% of the money donated specifically for Hurricane Katrina relief to find, ship and distribute food to Hurricane Katrina victims.

Information about the Society of St. Andrew and its hunger relief programs is available online at www.endhunger.org. Contributions to SoSA for Hurricane Katrina Relief can also be made online or by email at sosausa@endhunger.org; by phone at 800-333-4597; or by mail to Society of St. Andrew, 3383 Sweet Hollow Road, Big Island, Virginia 24526. Make checks payable to Society of St. Andrew with a notation for Hurricane Katrina Relief.