Our Mission
To end hunger in Orange County.
Our Vision
Together we are creating a future where no one goes hungry. Ever.
Our Strategy
Second Harvest Food Bank reaches out to the community for donations, grants, fundraising, food drives, food rescue, harvesting and volunteers to help provide food, education and advocacy for the hungry. We work with partners in the community to create innovative, sustainable ways to end hunger in Orange County.
Our Values
COMPASSION • DIVERSITY • INTEGRITY • SERVICE EXCELLENCE • STEWARDSHIP
Our Bold Goal
Second Harvest provided more than 21.6 million meals last year and while we have made great strides in reducing hunger, there are still many people in Orange County who can’t get food for their families when they need it. We have a Bold Goal aimed at eliminating the hunger gap and providing food for all who need it.
History
Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County is the largest nonprofit hunger relief organization leading the fight to end hunger in our community. We are a member of Feeding America, a nationwide hunger-relief network of 200 food banks.
Second Harvest was founded in 1983 by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Council of Orange under the leadership of Dan Harney and Tom Fuentes. Dan had noticed that there were an increasing number of hungry people who couldn’t find the food they needed, so in October of 1983 the food bank began its food distribution operations in a converted fruit packing facility in the City of Orange.
In 2008, Second Harvest, whose distributions had outgrown the Orange location, moved to a new facility in the Great Park in Irvine on the old El Toro Marine Base. This modern food distribution facility more than doubled the food bank’s capacity to meet the needs of Orange County’s hungry during the most difficult economic times since the Great Depression.
In 2012, Second Harvest became an independent 501 c3 corporation. We reach out to the community for donations, grants, funds, food drives, grocery rescue, and volunteers to help provide food for the hungry. We work to find innovative, sustainable ways to end hunger and to close the meal gap to reach our Bold Goal of providing food for all who need it in a convenient and dignified setting.
Since its founding, Second Harvest has distributed more than 418 million pounds, or the equivalent of 354 million meals, to a network of more than 200 local charities like church and school pantries, senior centers, Boys and Girls Clubs, Kids Cafes, and shelters for abused women and children.
More than 90 cents of every dollar spent is used for programs to feed the hungry
301,000 people in OC are at risk of hunger each month
More than 117,000, or 1 in 6, children in OC are at risk of hunger
22% of OC seniors are at risk of hunger and 45% can’t afford basic necessities
We feed more than 250,000 people each month, but that leaves 51,000 people without food when they need it