Director’s Note

Yes, I want to support Feeding Medina County

Please check the amount donated: O $15 Student O $100 Donor O $25 Introductory O $250 Contributing O $50 Supporting O $500 Sustainer

Name:____________________________________ Address:__________________________________ City, State, ZIP:_____________________________ E-mail address:_____________________________ Phone:____________________________________

Payment Method: O Check enclosed, payable to Feeding Medina County O Visa O MC O AmEx O Discover #_________________________ Exp:__________ Signature___________________________________ Please return to: Feeding Medina County, 901 Lafayette Rd. Medina, OH 44258

To Donate online click here

Feeding Medina County is a tax-exempt, nonprofit corporation.

New Program for Feeding

Medina County! One in four children in Medina County are

considered food insecure! Feeding Medina

County is partnering with the Ohio Farm Bureau and our

local Farm Bureau to ensure our children have access to

healthy foods and understand the integral role farmers

play in the production of our food.

Sticky Fingers Make Healthy Eaters will be held at Clo-

verleaf Elementary this Fall with Chef Carrie Beegle,

Cloverleaf Schools Food Service Director and other local

chefs teaching the classes. The program is designed as an

outreach for elementary students (ages 6-11) and their

parents in an effort to teach them sound nutritional prac-

tices and basic culinary techniques using vegetables and

fruit purchased from local farmers. Children enrolled in

the program will visit a local farm and choose the pro-

duce to be prepared in their cooking class. Studies show

that children that help with the preparation of their own

food will consume and try new items making for healthi-

er food choices. Sandy Calvert, Executive Director of

FMC notes “Childhood diabetes and obesity is at all-time

high in our country; we have the tools to help our chil-

dren do better in school by developing strong local part-

nerships with Farm Bureau improving childhood nutri-

tion.” —Sandy Calvert

Upcoming Events

May 18 — Community Garden &

Orchard kick-off.

June 8 —Pizza Palooza on Broadway

October 11 & 12—

Kick Up Your

Heels— End Child-

hood Hunger.

Sandi Sammon, Business Manager Sandi was a former FMC board member and

has been involved with several

aspects of the organization prior

to joining the staff. Sandi is

eager to help FMC in accom-

plishing its mission: that no

one goes hungry. Sandi can be

reached at sandisam-

mon@feedingmedinacounty.org.

Lisa Rivedal, Volunteer Coordinator Lisa has lived in the Medina community for 15 years and is a former Hunger Task

Force member, a volunteer in the community, and a

graduate of Leadership Medi-na County 2008. She is pleased to be a part of this

growing organization. Lisa can be reached at (330) 421-

4816 or at volun-

teer@feedingmedinacounty.org .

Welcome New Staff

Feeding Medina County held its 2nd

annual Breaking Bread on Bourbon

Street...An Evening of Art and Jazz Gala

on March 2, 2013 at Weymouth Country

Club. The Gala is FMC’s largest fund-

raiser of the year. There were over 200

in attendance for the event. Entertain-

ment included a jazz trio, a full-size

band, two fortune tellers, and two carica-

ture artists. Attendees were delighted by

Breaking Bread on Bourbon Street a Hit

I N S I D E

T H I S I S S U E :

Community

Garden & Or-

chard

2

Pizza Palooza 2

Volunteer Spot-

light

3

Program Up-

dates

3

Have a Heart-

Food Drive

3

Hunger Facts 3

New Staff 4

Director’s Note 4

Food for Fines During the month of March the Medina County

District Library ran its Food for Fines program to

benefit Feeding Medina County. Library patrons

were able to eliminate their fines by donating a

non-perishable food item. The program raised

over 8,500 pounds of food for FMC.

S A N D Y C A L V E R T

E X E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R

F E E D I N G M E D I N A C O U N T Y

9 0 1 W . L A F A Y E T T E R D .

P . O . B O X 2 0 3 8

M E D I N A , O H 4 4 2 5 8

W W W . F E E D I N G M E D I N A C O U N T Y . O R G S P R I N G 2 0 1 3 Advisory

Board

Pat Geissman

Jeff Plumer

Bill Frantz

Rose Viny

Ed McKeon

Terry O’Connor

Lucy Sondles

Matt Marquard

Sandi Sammon,

Business Manag-

er

Lisa Rivedal,

Volunteer Co-

ordinator

E D I T O R : S A N D I S A M M O N — C O N T A C T A T

S A N D I S A M M O N @ F E E D I N G M E D I N A C O U N T Y . O R G

To Volunteer Call

330-421-4816

The Brunswick Area Chamber of

Commerce with the City of Brunswick

and Brunswick City Schools held the

2013 Bring on Brunswick! Health Fair

on March, 23, 2013. The event admis-

sion was one non-perishable food item

to be donated to Feeding Medina Coun-

ty. The event raised 1,029 pounds of

food for Feeding Medina County!

the New Orleans style atmosphere.

There were several art and silent auction

items to bid on as well as a live auction

which featured a trip to the Big Easy.

The night ended with the sale of 527 or-

ange bags at $10 each. Each bag sold

covers the seven pounds of food sent

home each week for FMC’s Weekenders

for Children program.

Next year’s gala is scheduled for March

1, 2014...save the date!

Bring On Brunswick!

Tarot card reader Janine Sarnowski Lynda Bowers, Alex Macron and FMC Executive

Director Sandy Calvert

P A G E 2

New Community Garden & Orchard Feeding Medina County and several

community partners will begin planting

what is to become the FMC Community

Garden & Orchard on May 18, 2013.

Work for the garden located at FMC head-

quarters on Lafayette Road has already be-

gun with soil and water testing, excavat-

ing, and land preparation. The May 18th

planting will be a large-scale event with

many volunteers, community leaders, and

businesses taking part.

The produce from the garden and or-

chard will be used to feed the hungry in

Medina County. FMC will use the pro-

duce for its Free Fresh Produce Outreach

Distribution Programs. It will also be used

to supplement the provisions the seniors

receive from FMC’s Staple for Seniors

program.

Plot sponsorships are available. For

more information on plot sponsorships or

to volunteer please call (330)-421-4816 or

email info@feedingmedinacounty.org.

Wish List

Pond that will be used to

irrigate the Feeding Medi-

na County Community

Garden & Orchard on

Peach, Pear, and

Plum trees are

needed for the

Community

Garden & Or-

chard. Call 330-

421-4816 if you

can help.

Please “like” us on

Facebook.

www.facebook.com/

FeedingMedi-

naCounty

Feeding Medina County in partnership with

Main Street Medina, AARP, and Armstrong Ca-

ble will present the first Pizza Pallooza on the

Square on June 8, 2013 from 9a.m. until 4p.m.

The event will feature a nonprofit showcase as

well as a pizzeria contest to find the ‘best pizza

in Medina County’.

Registrations are being accepted for nonprofit

space at the event. Please e-mail sandisam-

mon@feedingmedinacounty.org for a registra-

tion form. There is a $30.00 fee for an 10’ x 10’

space. If interested, register soon as space is

limited.

Thank You to the Partners

That Have Come Together to

Make the Community Garden

& Orchard Possible:

Medina Tractor Sales

OSU Extension

HGExpo

SBE Marketing

Next Step

Williams on the Lake

Medina County Juvenile

Court

Melissa Krebs

Chick Master

Medina Plating Corp.

Medina County Commis-

sioners

Rick Malone De-

signScapes

Ron Maitland, Communi-

ty Garden Coordinator.

Pizza Palooza on the Square

Program Updates

P A G E 3 S P R I N G 2 0 1 3

Schools Donate 16,940 Pounds of Food

Volunteer Spotlight

Terry O’Connor

Feeding Medina County would not be able to do all it

does without the hard work of many dedicated volunteers.

The newsletter will shine the light on a volunteer each

edition to let them know just how special and appreciated

they are.

“Life is a gift it offers

us the privilege,

opportunity, and

responsibility to serve

the needs of others.”

Staples for Seniors— There are 395 sen-

iors in seven Section 8 housing facilities

that receive monthly distributions of 15-

20 pounds of food including meat to get

them through to the next month.

Weekenders for Children— The weekly

program is now in ten schools providing

450 children seven-

pound bags full of

food to tide them

over for the week-

end.

Free Food Distribu-

tion— The Expand-

ed Free Fresh Pro-

duce Distributions

will begin in May.

In February Medina County Schools came together

with their ‘Have a Heart’ county-wide schools food

drive to benefit Feeding Medina County. The com-

bined donations from the schools totaled 16, 940

pounds of food. Wadsworth City schools had the most

donations with 6,911 pounds. For their efforts,

Wadsworth City Schools received special recognition

at FMC’s Breaking Bread on Bourbon Street Gala held

March 2, 2013.

Kohl’s Cares Team volun-

teering for Weekenders for

Children program.

‘Have a Heart’ School s Food Drive Results

Wadsworth City Schools: 6,911 lbs.

Medina City Schools: 5416 lbs.

Buckeye: 3,134 lbs.

Brunswick City Schools: 897 lbs.

Cloverleaf: 560 lbs.

Thank You!!!

Medina County Hunger Facts • More than 20,000 people are considered food inse-

cure in our county.

• The rate of poverty in the county in 2011 was 10.2%

up from 4.6% in 1999.

• Our county has a childhood food insecurity rate of

22%; almost 1 in 4 children in this community do not

have access to a stable supply of food.

• More than ninety-five hundred children in our coun-

ty are food insecure.

• Nine percent of adults with incomes less than

$25,000 are concerned about having enough food for

themselves or their families.

• One percent of parents reported their child went to

bed hungry every night of the week because they did-

n’t have enough food.

• More than 12,000 people in our county participate in

the SNAP (food stamp) program, an all-time high in

December of 2012.

• In 2008 more than $7,500,000 was spent on SNAP

(food stamps) and at the end of 2012 more than

$18,000,000 was spent on food stamps for county res-

idents.

• The Akron Beacon Journal reported in December of

2012 that Medina County had seen an increase of

102% in the number of people enrolled in SNAP

(food stamps) from 2007-08 to 2011-12.