For the sixth consecutive year UA4Food brings together the efforts of University of Arizona students, faculty, staff and local merchants.  Proceeds from this year’s UA4Food Drive will benefit the Community Food Bank’s Child Hunger/Nutrition Programs and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP).

The UA4Food Drive is a program of The University of Arizona Office of Community Relations and is supported by the Main Gate Square Merchants.  Detailed information is available at www.ua4food.arizona.edu.  Virtual donations can be made at the same Web site.

Various organizations on campus will conduct individual food drives throughout the school year.  Organizations and dates for the food drives follow….

UA4Food Faculty and Staff Drive – March 15– April 7, 2010 – During this time drop off locations for food and monetary contributions will be placed throughout the University of Arizona.  Check the UA4Food Web site on Friday, March 12^th for a list of drop off locations and departmental ambassadors. Give easily and securely through the Community Food Bank’s virtual giving center at http://communityfoodbank.com/donate/ua4food/

Contacts:  Holly Altman at 626-4671 or Jacob Coldsmith at 622-0525 x 260.

Staff Advisory Council “Stuff the CatTran” – Wednesday, April 7, 5:30 AM to 7 PM – At the Tran Passenger Drop Off Zone at Cherry & University.

Participate in the second annual “Stuff the CatTran” event organized by the Staff Advisory Council, Parking & Transportation Services and UA Community Relations.  Community members are encouraged to contribute non-perishable food items.  Cash contributions will be accepted.

Contact:  Joyce Childers at 621-7727 or Randy Livingston at 247-2213.

Spring Fling 2010 Food Drive – April 8 & 9, 2010, 4 – 11PM – Combine fun with philanthropy! Receive $5.00 off your Spring Fling wrist band purchase with a donation of four cans of food. .

Contact: Lexy Keffeler at 621-5610

Web site:  www.springfling.arizona.edu

Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC) “Run for Your Life” 5K Run and Food Drive Celebration– Saturday, April 17, 2010, 7:00 AM – 12 Noon – SHAC presents the fourth annual “Run for Your Life” 5K fun run/walk on the UA Mall.  Partnering with the UA Office of Community Relations, the run will serve as a celebration for the UA4 Food campaign. Proceeds benefit the Community Food Bank and Heifer International, to help end hunger here at home and abroad.  A $15 pre-registration fee and $20 day of the run/walk fee will cover the cost of donations and includes a t-shirt, refreshments and a chance to win prizes and giveaways on the day of the event.

Contact: David Salasfsky at 621-8297

Web site: www.RFYL.arizona.edu

MORE EVENTS TO COME SOON….

For information on the UA4Food Drive, contact Holly Altman at the University of Arizona Office of Community Relations, 626-4671 or log on to www.ua4food.arizona.edu

Don’t miss your chance to win! This beautiful Star Over Georgetown Amish Quilt is being raffled by the Green Valley Community Food Bank this spring. The hand-stitched queen/full quilt took 275 yards of quilting thread. The green and plum tones are arranged in an array of complimentary patterns found in the quilt’s wonderful details. It was hand-stitched by an Amish quilter from Pennsylvania Dutch Country.

There is a suggested minimum donation of $10.00 per ticket. Your donation to the quilt raffle is fully tax-deductible. The drawing will be held on April 30, 2010. Tickets will be available online through April 29th at 3:00 pm.  There is no need to be present at the drawing to win; the winner will be contacted by phone. All proceeds will benefit the Green Valley Community Food Bank.

A portion of every dollar you send between March 1 and April 30, 2010 will be eligible for a partial match by the Feinstein Foundation!

Don’t miss your chance to win! This year’s quilt is a beautiful Log Cabin Lone Star pattern Amish Quilt. This hand-stitched queen/king quilt took 335 yards of quilting thread. The deep blue border sets off an array of complimentary blues, deep reds and tans found in the quilt’s wonderful details. It was hand-stitched by Anna Hoover, an Amish quilter from Pennsylvania Dutch Country.

Last year, proceeds from the quilt raffle allowed us to provide enough groceries for over 415,000 meals. There is a suggested minimum donation of $10.00 per ticket. Your donation to the quilt raffle is fully tax-deductible. The drawing will be held on April 30, 2010. Tickets will be available online up to April 29th at 3:00 pm. There is no need to be present at the drawing to win; the winner will be contacted by phone.

A portion of every dollar you send between March 1 and April 30, 2010 will be eligible for a partial match by the Feinstein Foundation!

Everyone welcome!

Where:  NE corner of Speedway and Riverview, west of I-10 between Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind and El Rio Neighborhood Center

Admission:  Free and open to the public

The Santa Cruz River Farmers’ Market Spring Garden Celebration is designed to encourage community members to eat healthy, save money and learn more about the local food system by growing their own fruits and vegetables.  The Celebration will feature the annual spring seed exchange; information on desert gardening; live music; recipes and cooking demonstrations with seasonal produce; and vegetable seedlings, shade cloth and bird netting for sale.

Local produce selections at the Farmers’ Market include salad and cooking greens, radishes, turnips, cabbage, potatoes, onions, apples, citrus and much more.  Shoppers can also find Sonoran honey, dried beans and grains, free-range beef, fresh eggs, herbal remedies, locally roasted coffee, garden plants and cacti.

The Farmers’ Market accepts credit and debit cards, food stamps, cash, and Women, Infant and Children (WIC) Cash Value Vouchers for fruits and vegetables.

For more information, contact Sara Rickard at (520) 622-0525 x 242.

Every year the Rhode Island based Feinstein Foundation gives away $1 million in funds to fight hunger nationwide. All of your gift between March 1 and April 30, 2010 are eligible for the partial match! The more we bring in, the larger our portion of the $1 million will be!

Another record was set in 2009 by the Feinstein Challenge and by the Community Food Bank. Last year the food bank received $14,234 as part of the $1 Million Giveaway to Fight Hunger. $13,233 was awarded to the Community Food Bank and an additional $1,001 to our branch in Green Valley. With it we were able to provide enough food for nearly 57,000 meals.

Every year the Feinstein Foundation provides a partial match for dollars and pounds of food raised during March and April. Donations to the food bank totaling about $400,000 in cash and over 4.5 million pounds of food were eligible for the challenge. One special gift that came in for the challenge was $25,000 from Barry and Janet Lang. “We were excited to know that our gift would be leveraged by the Feinstein Challenge,” said Barry. Their gift—made through the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona—was the largest we received that could be counted toward the challenge.

The Feinstein Challenge in 2009 inspired $197 million dollars in donations nationwide.

Hello friends of Reverie,

Our next event is coming right up on March 6th (2 1/2 weeks away!). This benefit for the Tucson Community Food Bank will be hosted again by Gil and Kathy Parrish.  Those who attended the September 18th concert at their home can attest to the beauty of the surroundings, the quality of the food, and the graciousness of these wonderful hosts…. and come on…. its for the Food Bank!    If you can join us that night, please don’t delay.

The concert will be indoors so space is limited. Reserve your place now. Don’t miss out!

Please open/print the RSVP attachment to make your reservation.

We would like to extend a special thanks to Steve and Vivian Bennett and all those who joined us on Valentine’s Day for the Art-If-Act Dance Company benefit at the Bennett’s home. The “Romancing Eros” fundraiser was a wonderful success. Your contributions help to advance the creative spirit of their vision.  We had a great time and were blessed with perfect weather, delicious food catered by the Dakota Cafe, and great company!  Ashley and Claire (co-directors of Artifact Dance Company) are truly inspirational and we are having a great time collaborating with them for the upcoming “Dance In The Red” concert to benefit the Southern Arizona Aids Foundation on March 26th and 27th. Tickets on sale now

Map link to the Parrish’s home for the March 6th Concert

We would like to extend a special thanks for the valued contributions of
The Hair and Skin Studio, Roy and Yolanda Valenzuela

The University of Arizona National Collegiate Leadership Conference (NCLC) will take time from their activities on Saturday, February 20, 2010 to help repack approximately 30,000 pounds of rice for the Community Food Bank.

The National Collegiate Leadership Conference runs from February 19 – 21, 2010 at the University of Arizona. 600 participants are expected to join this conference-wide service project. All participants are encouraged to participate in one large-scale event together. The repacking will take place on Saturday, February 20th in the four side ballrooms at the Student Union Memorial Center at the U of A (2nd and Mountain Avenue) from 4:15 PM to 6:15 PM. The rice will come in fifty pound bags and be repacked by the participants into one pound bags. The smaller bags will then become part of the food bank’s TEFAP Food Box Program and be distributed to local families.

The National Collegiate Leaderships Conference is a student run nonprofit organization that brings together students and leaders from diverse backgrounds to learn leadership skills, cultivate social responsibility, break down leadership barriers and to adopt leadership as a way of life.

“This volunteer project will provide rice to 30,000 local families in need,” said Bill Carnegie, Community Food Bank President/CEO. “We are grateful the NCLC Conference representatives at the University of Arizona chose the Community Food Bank for this important project.”

For more information, contact Alyssa Martinez at (480) 773-9496 or at alyssa.martinez@gmail.com or log on to http://arizonaleadership.orgsync.com/org/nclc

The Tucson Community Food Bank is offering to pick surplus citrus from homes and businesses in the Tucson area. This service is known as “Gleaning” or harvesting food that would otherwise go unused.

“It’s an easy way for someone to help their neighbors in need during these difficult economic times,” said Bill Carnegie, President/CEO of the Community Food Bank. “There are thousands of orange, lemon, and grapefruit trees in the Tucson area with citrus products that go to waste each year. These items can go a long way to help feed the hungry in our community.”

To schedule someone to come to a home or business and pick the citrus, call (520) 622-0525 x 222. Those able to do their own gleaning may bring the citrus to the food bank at 3003 S. Country Club Road (between 36th Street and Ajo Road), Monday –Friday, from 8:00 AM-
4:30 PM.

Who: Everyone welcome!

What: Tours of a 10-acre production and education farm

When: Monday, February 22, 2010
Farm Stand Hours: 3:00 to 6:00 PM
Farm Tours: 3:00 to 5:00 PM

Where: Community Food Bank’s Marana Heritage Farm at
12375 N. Heritage Park Drive (Tangerine Exit off I-10)

Admission: Free and open to the public

The Marana Heritage Farm Stand’s tours will cover the 10 acres of food producing fields, an “edible forest,” a passive water catchment system, composting, a chicken coop, a cob oven, and the Children’s Garden. Community members will learn about the local food system by seeing the connection between the Marana Heritage Farm and the fresh fruits and vegetables they can purchase at the Farm Stand.

The Marana Heritage Farm is a partnership between the Community Food Bank, the Town of Marana Parks and Recreation Department and many community members. Produce grown at the Marana Heritage Farm is sold at the Marana Farm Stand, the Community Food Bank Farmers’ Market, and the Santa Cruz River Farmers’ Market.

Local produce selections at the Farm Stand include citrus, salad and cooking greens, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, radishes, cabbage, potatoes, green onions, apples, fresh eggs and much more.

All the Markets including the Farm Stand accept credit and debit cards, SNAP (food stamps), cash, and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Cash Value Vouchers for fruits and vegetables.

For more information, contact Sara Rickard at (520) 622-0525 x 242.