Bellingham Food Bank Receives Donation of 8,000 Pounds of Sweet Corn from the Vertically Integrated Partnership

BELLINGHAM, Wash., Oct. 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On October 20th, the Vertically Integrated Partnership (including Annie's Fun, Sodexo, Hirai Farms, National Frozen Foods, etc.) donated 8,000 pounds of sweet corn to the Bellingham Food Bank. Additionally, many students from Western Washington University and volunteers from Sodexo were on hand to help unload the sweet corn. Following the 4-ton delivery of sweet corn in Bellingham, the truck took the remainder (approximately 26 tons of sweet corn) of the load to Food Lifeline in Shoreline, Washington.

The Vertically Integrated Partnership (VIP) is a coalition of farmers, food processors, food distributors and food service companies that are working together to help stop hunger in the Pacific Northwest. Since 2008, the Vertically Integrated Partnership has donated nearly 3 million pounds of food (i.e., potatoes, sweet corn, onions, beans, canned foods, etc.) to many food banks in the Pacific Northwest including the Bellingham Food Bank, Northwest Harvest, Second Harvest, Food Lifeline, White Center Food Bank, Quincy Community Food Bank, Wenatchee Food Bank, etc. The Vertically Integrated Partnership (VIP) has a goal of donating another 2 million pounds of food in the next 12 to 16 months.

"This large donation of fresh sweet corn by the Vertically Integrated Partnership, Sodexo, Annie's Fun, Hirai Farms and National Frozen Foods will greatly benefit Whatcom County. Also, it was great to have all of the volunteers from Sodexo and students from Western Washington University there to help quickly unload the sweet corn and pack it into cartons," said Max Morange, Agricultural Programs Coordinator of the Bellingham Food Bank. "The Bellingham Food Bank will be immediately distributing the sweet corn to soup kitchens and emergency food providers across the county. Having such a substantial donation really makes it possible for us to distribute much-needed food to every corner of our community."

For photos from the recent October 20, 2010 Vertically Integrated Partnership sweet corn donation and volunteer event at the Bellingham Food Bank, please go to the following links:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sdVfB3f9ZQ
• http://picasaweb.google.com/verticallyintegratedpartners/102010VIPSweetCornDonationAtTheBellinghamFoodBank?feat=directlink

For more information about the VIP sweet corn donation to the Bellingham Food Bank, please contact Mike Cohen or Max Morange of the Bellingham Food Bank at 360-676-0392 or [email protected] or [email protected].

About Bellingham Food Bank

Bellingham Food Bank is Whatcom County's largest emergency food provider, supplying groceries to anyone who lives in Bellingham. Our mission is to reduce hunger by providing wholesome foods to those in need on an emergency or chronic basis and by educating the community on the problem of hunger. Bellingham Food Bank also serves as the warehouse for more than one dozen small, rural food banks throughout Whatcom County. Each year, Bellingham Food Bank receives, stores, and distributes more than 500,000 pounds of food to partner food banks. Every month Bellingham Food Bank receives more than 8,000 visits and responds by handing out approximately 190,000 pounds of food.

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SOURCE Bellingham Food Bank