1) Could you tell me a little bit about yourself, your website and anything else you’d like to mention.
My name is Dan Michel, and I’m the Digital Marketing Manager at Feeding America. Feeding America provides low-income individuals and families with the fuel to survive and even thrive. As the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity, our network members supply food to more than 37 million Americans each year, including 14 million children and 3 million seniors. Serving the entire United States, more than 200 member food banks support 61,000 agencies that address hunger in all of its forms.
2) Where did the original idea for Feeding America come from?
We have been around since 1979 but prior to September 2008, we were known as Second Harvest or America’s Second Harvest.
The food bank concept began in the late 1960s in Phoenix, Arizona. John Van Hengel, a retired businessman, volunteered at a local soup kitchen. He solicited donations of food products that might otherwise go to waste, and soon was generating more food than the soup kitchen could handle. He decided to set up a warehouse where he could store the donated products and distribute them to charities feeding needy people in Phoenix. The first food bank was then established.
In the early 1970s, several other food banks started in various cities as people learned of the food bank concept and copied it in their communities. In 1976, the federal government gave Van Hengel's food bank a grant to assist in developing food banks throughout the nation. The impetus for growth had been increased by the passage of the 1976 Tax Reform Act, which made it more financially advantageous for companies to donate their products.
By 1979, this federally funded development effort had expanded to include solicitation of food donations and was incorporated formally as Second Harvest. Second Harvest soon became the clearinghouse for large donations from national corporations. The organization developed food bank standards for storage capacity, quality control, and management.
By 1982, federal funding was discontinued. Second Harvest increased its pursuit of alternative sources of financial support. In 1984, the Second Harvest national office was moved to Chicago, Illinois. The organization continued to grow in terms of the number of food banks and the volume of donated food. The concept and the practice of food banking had been accepted by both the food industry and local social service providers feeding hungry Americans.
With many major cities having food banks by the mid 1980's, network expansion slowed and Second Harvest's focus shifted to improving existing programs. Professionalism and efficiency of food bank operations improved dramatically, resulting in a much greater amount of product being distributed by the network.
3) What can I find at the Feeding America website that is unique and special?
We recently launched our new Feeding America website in April of 2011.
The site features a variety of enhancements including a full re-design, new content, and improved usability. Other new features to the website include:
· Location-Aware Content: Local food bank and food insecurity information will be presented on the home page through use of location-aware technology to enhance the user experience for some of the most in-demand content on the site. The content underscores the local nature of hunger in context of our national issue and how Feeding America addresses this at both levels. Sitecore Online Marketing Suite software powers the location-aware content and in the future Feeding America plans to use the software for real time personalization, testing, and visitor experience analytics.
· Real Time Updates: Home page content will now feature real time updates keeping site visitors current on how Feeding America's broad community of partners, including celebrity Entertainment Council members, corporate and others, are working to fight hunger in the U.S. This will be a resource for hunger issue advocates across the country. Updates will also include communication from Feeding America CEO, Vicki B. Escarra.
· Cutting-Edge Research Delivered via Interactive Map: Facilitates fast and easy navigation of new groundbreaking research called "Map the Meal Gap." This interactive map provides information never before available including food insecurity rates for every county (3137 counties) in America. Until now the only reliable data on food insecurity was at the state level. For the first time, government leaders, state agencies, and food banks have accurate data on food insecurity at the county and Congressional District level.
· Real Stories: Firsthand accounts of people dealing with food insecurity in America including powerful visuals and videos of Americans dealing with hunger will help provide an emotional connection to the issue of hunger and in turn better engage people to help.
4) What has been the feedback you have received about your site and how do you go about making changes?
We manage the website internally and feedback has been positive.
5) How do people go about getting help from Feeding America?
Contact their local food bank.
6) How do our readers go about helping Feeding America?
Get involved in many ways – donate, advocate, volunteer, tell others & spread the word. Follow Feeding America through social media on Facebook and Twitter.
