Second Harvest
America’s Second Harvest is the largest domestic hunger-relief organization in the United States. The America’s Second Harvest mission is to feed hungry people by soliciting and distributing food and grocery products through a nationwide network of certified affiliate food banks and food-rescue programs and to educate the public about the nature of and solutions to the problem of hunger in America.
In the 1999, 2000 and 2001 editions of Forbes magazine, America’s Second Harvest was given a charitable commitment rating of 99%. This means that 99% of all product and money donations received by America’s Second Harvest go directly towards feeding hungry people rather than administration or fundraising.
Growers, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers all support America’s Second Harvest through their generous donations. These donations consist primarily of surplus food that might otherwise go to waste were it not for the effective distribution channel provided by the America’s Second Harvest network.
Donating is a one-stop process because of America’s Second Harvest’s product distribution system. America’s Second Harvest records and verifies all donated over 200 food banks and food-rescue programs. Reports are generated for every donor’s corporate records, and a specialized tracking system is maintained in case of product recall.
The donated food is provided to more than 50,000 charitable feeding programs through over 200 food banks and food-rescue programs. This network of agencies provides emergency food assistance to more than 23 million hungry Americans each and every year