November, 2024 - Irvine Community News and Views

IVC Helps Veterans Succeed

One of the little known, but extremely important programs at Irvine Valley College (IVC), is the...

Real Heroes at Irvine-Based Second Harvest Food Bank

One out of every 12 people in Orange County may not have the means to eat today. That’s a challenge that Irvine-based Second Harvest Food Bank has been helping people meet since 1983.

In that time, Second Harvest has grown into a large and sophisticated operation — coordinating hundreds of volunteers; setting up donation programs with supermarkets and food distributors; operating its own vehicle fleet with a distribution center in Irvine; and since 2021, running a 45-acre farm in the City.

“Levels of food insecurity in Orange County are now higher than before the pandemic,” said Second Harvest CEO Claudia Bonilla Keller. “Almost 400,000 people currently rely on Second Harvest and our network of partners for nutritional assistance each month. In 2019, we served closer to 250,000 local residents.”

Those are daunting numbers. But so are these: In 2022, Second Harvest truck drivers traveled 97,000 miles to distribute 32.4 million pounds of food, including 2.7 million pounds of broccoli, squash, melons, cabbage and green beans harvested at its own Harvest Solutions Farm.