Coinciding with Hunger Action Month, approximately 1,200 families and individuals of all ages – including many from Newport Beach – participated in Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County’s second annual Walk to Feed OC on Saturday, Sept. 9, to raise funds and awareness of food and nutritional insecurity in Orange County.
Participants’ peer-to-peer fundraising efforts generated in excess of $300,000, which is the equivalent of nearly 15 truckloads of food for the Food Bank.
Each month, Second Harvest distributes almost 3.1 million pounds of food to more than 300 community partner sites, including schools, after-school programs, houses of worship, soup kitchens and senior centers, thereby serving approximately 400,000 people facing food insecurity.
At the Walk to Feed OC, presented by Ralphs and Food 4 Less, participants walked approximately 1.5 miles through the grounds at Tanaka Farms in Irvine at their own pace.
“Second Harvest’s Walk to Feed OC was a way for local families, companies and community groups to lend a hand to those in need, which is especially inspiring during Hunger Action Month,” said Sunny Reelhorn Parr, Chair of the Walk to Feed OC Committee, Second Harvest Board Member and Head of Social Impact, The Kroger Co. “We hope others will consider the effects of food insecurity on the community as a whole and join Second Harvest in its ongoing efforts to address it for those in need.”
In fiscal year 2022-2023, Second Harvest distributed 36.3 million pounds of food to an average of 393,000 neighbors in need each month. Approximately 50,000-60,000 pounds of produce is harvested each week at the 40-acre Harvest Solutions Farm located in Irvine and begun in August 2021. Second Harvest is a member of the Feeding America network. For more information, visit www.feedoc.org.
