Due to the unprecedented increase in requests for Family Food Boxes, the Community Food Bank (CFB) will begin distributing one food box per household per month in January, 2009.

The current economic downturn in Pima County has increased the number of families asking for food help dramatically and maximized the number of Family Food Boxes that the Community Food Bank can produce.  From January 1 though November 30, 2008 the Food Bank distributed over 180,000 family food boxes.  That is a 36% increase over the same period in 2007.  The CFB is 46% over budget in purchased food for fiscal year 2007/2008.  The Food Bank anticipates that the requests for help will continue through next year.

Families may pick up their one food box per month at the Community Food Bank, 3003 S. Country Club Road on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and at other sites around Pima County, including selected Tucson Parks and Recreations sites. Produce and bread also will be available at those sites.  Information about the location of distribution sites, days and times of distribution will be available soon on the Community Food Bank website.

Families requiring more than one food box per month will be referred to the CFB family advocate to determine what other help may be available.

“The Community Food Bank regrets that we are forced to reduce the number of Family Food Boxes available each month,” said Bill Carnegie, President/CEO.  “These are difficult times for everyone and we hope this change will be temporary and that we can return to our former schedule of distribution in the near future.

For more information, contact Jack Parris at (520) 622-0525 x 215 or by Cell at (520) 444-5412.

Jim Campbell, President of Qwest Arizona will visit the Community Food Bank in Tucson on Wednesday, December 24, 2008 to present the organization with a donation of $25,000.  The presentation will take place 1:30 PM at the Community Food Bank, 3003 S. Country Club Road.

Qwest and Qwest Pioneers have been organizing food drive donations for the Food Bank for more than 25 years.  Qwest Pioneers have also volunteered time and made monetary donations in the early spring when holiday giving typically falls off, but the need remains high.

“As we head into the holiday season, the Qwest Foundation is pleased to contribute to the Community Food Bank as they work tirelessly to assist those in need,” said Jim Campbell, President of Qwest Arizona.  “According to Feeding America, one in eight Americans does not always know where their next meal will come from.  The Community Food Bank is experiencing a 36% increase in demand for food assistance over one year ago.  Qwest is honored and humbled to assist in any way we can.”

The Qwest Foundation’s core principle is that investing in people and communities provides lasting value for the future.  The Qwest Foundation awards grants to community-based programs that generate high-impact and measurable results, focusing on pre-K through grade 12 education.

For more information, contact Mark Molzen at (602) 630-8224 or Jack Parris at (520) 622-0525 x 215

This year we are asking you bring donations for the Community Food Bank–a couple cans of food or non-perishable food items or a $3 donation. Truth be told, CFB would rather have your cash donations at this time of the year. That will help them buy what they don’t have.

With the Holidays draining CFB supplies and the current economic disaster, the Food Bank is going to need all the help they can get.

Let’s pile up more food and cash than will fit in my van and make someone else’s day one to remember.

We have quite a line up already. Of course, Top Dead Center will be there to get things started with guest Dave A-bear, from Xtra Ticket. On top of that we have a special performance by Whole Lotta Zep, two magical bluegrass sets with the Greg Morton Trio and Cadillac Mountain.

And we’re hoping the “Garcia Brothers” will kick in a set.

We’ll close the show with a special “Ray” extravaganza: reunions of “Love Joint” and “Killer Phils” followed by a set from “8 Minutes to Burn”. That’s right, all of Ray’s bands will be here. As Ray said, “We’ve go all night. Let’s party!”

The Diamond Foundation is challenging the Southern Arizona community to match its Diamond Winter Challenge to the Community Food Bank to raise funds for the Agency Market program.  The Diamond Foundation provided an initial $20,000 and a private benefactor added an additional $15,000 to the challenge.  The $35,000 challenge grant will run through March 31, 2009.

The Food Bank’s Agency Market provides food and non-food products for the use of over 300 local charities in Southern Arizona.  The Agency Market distributes nearly 6-million pounds of donated food each year, assisting almost 200,000 people.

This Diamond Winter Challenge $35,000 grant is designed to be matched by corporate, foundation and individual donors, during this current economic downturn and the Community Food Bank’s continuing needs after the holidays.

“This is a “call to action” to our community to help us match the Diamond Winter Challenge,” said Bill Carnegie, Community Food Bank President/CEO. “We greatly appreciate the Diamond Foundation’s challenge during these difficult times and look forward to the community’s positive response.”

For more information about the Diamond Winter Challenge contact Pauline Hechler, Community Food Bank Vice President of Development at (520) 622-0525 x 234 or by cell phone at (520) 668-8208

2448 E Broadway Blvd.
Tucson, AZ 85719
520-622-1022

A message from Jimmy’s:

We believe in giving back the community that has been so good to us for over 50 years. We feel this is a small way in which we can give back and say thank you to all that support us. We have the greatest customers in Tucson and they are always looking for ways to help our community as well. We realize that the need for food never ends and that is why we want to be a year round drop off and donation center.

Along with our year round donation site we are also proud to announce a virtual food drive you can donate to here:

So the staff at Jimmy’s Broadway Automotive and our families want to say thank you for your support of the Community Food Bank!

Sincerely,

Dave and Phyllis Shinkel

Community Food Bank leader gets a big thank-you, just in time for Thanksgiving

Bill Carnegie, president and CEO of the Community Food Bank and this year’s winning “Good Guy,” has been selected by the community and a panel of local judges to receive a $20,000 office remodel from Goodmans Interior Structures.

His new office was unveiled on Friday, Nov. 21, just in time for one of the food bank’s busiest times of year: Thanksgiving.

Bill Carnegie has led the Community Food Bank for more than three years. As a leader who runs the organization as though it were a for-profit business, Carnegie knows that sound financial decisions and openness to public scrutiny are key to his organization’s success. The results-driven organization reviews its mission annually and constantly seeks opportunities to expand its role in the community. Stressing the importance of staff contributions, Carnegie supports employee recognition and involves staff in management decisions and strategic planning. He recognizes that his staff’s interactions with the community reflect on the organization and considers it his job to ensure that managers are able to support staff.

The Goodmans Eye for the Good Guy contest launched in March with a call for public nominations to find the most dedicated and effective leader of a Pima County 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Carnegie, one of ten finalists, was selected through a combination of online public voting (approximately 23,000 votes cast) and assessment by a panel of local judges.

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Sons of Orpheus, The Male Choir of Tucson along with the Students from the Arizona School for the Deaf and the Blind raise funds and gather food for the Community Food Bank each fall. The food drive culminates with a Gala Holiday Concert at the Berger Performing Arts Center on Wednesday, December 17th at 7:00 PM.

In this 11th Annual Concert the performers include students from the ASDB music department, the Sons of Orpheus and some surprise guests.
Admission to the concert is at least one non-perishable food item or, preferably, a monetary donation which you can make right now. If you choose to make an online donation please keep your receipt for concert admission.

If you would like tickets or information please contact Jim Hogan: jim@hoganschool.com or 237-3655.

Please keep in mind that every $1 donation enables the Food Bank to procure $9 worth of food.  Also check out the tax credit info on this web site.

In the grand tradition of the Boy Scouts of America, volunteerism often takes center stage for Southern Arizona’s troops. This December, the Community Food Bank will benefit from their hard work. December 6 is Scouting for Food day in Southern Arizona. Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts will deliver collection bags to homes in their neighborhoods from November 29 to December 5 and will then collect the bags on December 6.

Residents are asked to place nonperishable food items in the collection bags at their front door by 8:00 a.m. on December 6. The Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts will collect the food and deliver it to neighborhood collection sites.  Food bank trucks will then deliver the food to the Community Food Bank.

There are 440 units and almost 10,000 Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts in The Catalina Council of the Boy Scouts of America. All are encouraged to participate in Scouting for Food. For information about Scouting for Food, contact Josh Fisher, Program Director of the Catalina Council at (520) 750-03856 or 1-800-763-2543.