Sodexo, Hirai Farms and Annie's Fun Make Large Donation of Potatoes to Second Harvest

SPOKANE, Wash., May 14 /PRNewswire/ -- As people continue to struggle to put food on their tables in this sluggish economy, Hirai Farms, Annie's Fun and Sodexo teamed up on May 6th to make a large donation of potatoes to Second Harvest to provide food for those in need.

In particular, Hirai Farms, Annie's Fun and Sodexo donated 40,000 pounds of fresh potatoes to Second Harvest in Spokane that will be distributed to its network of food banks in the Greater Spokane area and across eastern Washington.

"The need for potatoes is very great right now at our food banks and we are thankful that Sodexo, Hirai Farms and Annie's Fun have made such a tremendous donation. This will help us to meet the continued dramatic increase in those seeking assistance," said Jason Clark, Executive Director of Second Harvest.

"We understand that the demand for food at the food banks continues throughout the year and we wanted to make sure Second Harvest had plenty of potatoes to help feed those in need this spring," said Blaine Hirai of Hirai Farms and Annie's Fun.

For more information, contact Rod Wieber, Director of Donor and Community Relations of Second Harvest, at (509) 252-6259 or [email protected].

To see photos of the May 6th Hirai Farms, Annie's Fun and Sodexo potato donation at Second Harvest's warehouse in Spokane, click on the following links:

1. http://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B5p5QpqTVnscYTI2Y2I4NDEtMDdjOC00NmQ4LWE5ZWMtZTdkOTkwMzEwNGM4&sort=name&layout=list&num=50;
2. http://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B5p5QpqTVnscNDJmY2IyYjQtMjI4My00ZTQzLWFjMTQtYjE0MGI2NzZkODk1&sort=name&layout=list&num=50;
3. http://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B5p5QpqTVnscNmI2MDU2MjktYWRjZi00ODM0LTkzZTMtZTFhODJjZTY5NTUz&sort=name&layout=list&num=50;

About Second Harvest Inland Northwest

Founded in 1971 as a central warehouse for 13 emergency food pantries in Spokane, Second Harvest (http://www.2-harvest.org) is the pioneering organization that leads the fight against hunger in the Inland Northwest. Today, partnerships with 275 neighborhood food banks and meal centers make it possible for Second Harvest to provide food to more than 48,000 hungry people each week. Second Harvest distributes more than one million pounds of donated food each month throughout its vast service area.

About Hirai Farms / Annie's Fun

Hirai Farms is a family-owned and -operated business in the Columbia Basin of Washington State since 1954. Blaine Hirai and the Hirai family maintain a strong tradition of giving back to local communities in the Pacific Northwest. In 2005, the Hirai family created "Annie's Fun," a non-profit, charitable 501(c)(3) organization, named after Blaine's mother, to help those in need. In the past couple of years, Blaine Hirai and Annie's Fun (http://www.AnniesFun.org) have donated over 1.5 million pounds of potatoes, onions and sweet corn to several food banks in Washington State.

About Sodexo

Sodexo (http://www.sodexo.com) is a leading Food and Facilities Management services company. Sodexo has an ongoing commitment to help people who face hunger and malnutrition in the communities it serves. The company's various programs are coordinated under its "STOP Hunger" (http://www.sodexofoundation.org) initiative, which now operates in 25 countries. Sodexo employees have contributed to more than 223 hunger-related NGOs and community-based groups since STOP Hunger's inception more than ten years ago. With the global problem of hunger and malnutrition now afflicting more than a billion people, Sodexo and its 355,000 employees across the globe are making a strong commitment to help donate food, serve meals and raise money for needy people in local communities.

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SOURCE Second Harvest Inland Northwest