Monday, November 10, 2008
New 4-ton truck added to 2HJ’s vehicles!
At long last, 2HJ has become the proud recipient of a 4-ton truck! The purchase of the truck was made possible by generous donations from NuSkin Japan. We sincerely thank NuSkin Japan for this important donation.
Soon after we received the truck, we took it down to Nagoya for a delivery. In Aichi and Mie, we delivered food to agencies in cooperation with Second Harvest Nagoya. We used to be able to deliver less than 2 tons of food at a time, but with the new truck, we can deliver more than 3 tons at a time. This means we can deliver more food in a more efficient manner.
So far, the truck has also shown outstanding performance for pickup of baby food and industrial refrigerators. Those who are most in need of food assistance are people like low-income single mother households and elderly households. They do not necessarily belong to any agencies, so one of our biggest goals is to establish a food assistance system for them. This truck represents the capacity for a big step toward that goal.
As the photos below show, this 4-ton truck really stands out in the streets. If you spot it somewhere, please wave hello to the driver!
2HJ’s new 4-ton truck
Loading the 4-ton truck
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Looking for Delivery Volunteers
Second Harvest Japan is looking for volunteer drivers who can help food deliveries to agencies.
1) Volunteer drivers
We are looking for volunteer drivers who can drive our trucks and pick up foods from our donors and deliver them to our agencies. Our staff will give you good trainings so that you can learn exactly how you conduct pick-ups and deliveries. Clean driving record is needed. We will make a photocopy of your driver’s liscense.
2) Driver’s club
We are also looking for volunteers who can make deliveries with his/her own car. Now we have five people in the driver’s club and they make food deliveries to agencies in Yokohama, Saitama, West Tokyo.
The followings are messages from our volunteers.
Mr. K: People at orphanages are very happy when I deliver foods. That makes me really happy. It’s very nice for me that I can volunteer at my own pace.
Ms. S: Meeting recipients gave me opportunities to know that I am being helpful to somebody. That gave me a happy feeling.
If you want to volunteer as a driver please contact us at volutneer@2hj.org.
Link to News story »Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Welcome, Yayoi Sogo, Volunteer Coordinator!
In July, Second Harvest Japan (2HJ) was pleased to welcome Yayoi Sogo as volunteer coordinator. Entering this new staff position, Yayoi fulfills the need for a central point person to manage the soup kitchen and other volunteer activities, which had always been largely volunteer-run. These activities have grown and evolved over the years thanks to the hard work of volunteers. Now, with Yayoi’s help, 2HJ will develop even more as we continue to depend on the good will and dedication of volunteers.
I know that the other volunteers will join me in welcoming Yayoi to the team, and I hope the below interview provides a good start for getting to know her!
Yayoi Sogo (left) with Patricia Decker, who served as volunteer coordinator since 2003.
Q: How did you find out about 2HJ?
Actually, I only found out about it recently. I had been interested in social entrepreneurship and non-profit organizations (NPOs) that support the socially disadvantaged, and I wanted to find a job that would let me provide such people with the things they need, thereby delivering hope and strength to them as well. At the beginning of 2008, I went to New York to visit some NPOs and find out how I could get involved but, since I also do other work, I was having trouble figuring out how I could balance my time and attention between both types of work. Just then, a friend saw a program featuring 2HJ on TV and told me about it.
Q: What made you decide to work at 2HJ?
I believe that at the very least, as we all carve out our path in life, each and every person should be ensured a basic living standard and a fair start. The fact that 2HJ’s activities focus on providing that most basic necessity—food—really resonated with me. My particular interest was in fighting poverty, but I learned that 2HJ’s deal not just with helping the needy, but also with making good use of foods that would have gone to waste (because of nearing expiration dates and other reasons), so we’re naturally involved in addressing environmental and other societal problems.
What really sealed my decision to work at 2HJ, though, was the fun experience of working together with the volunteers. Seeing such a large number of volunteers come together to make a huge amount of food for the soup kitchen, and the feelings of happiness and fulfillment I got from working as a team to make the food, brought back memories of the fun I’d had at my high school culture festivals.
Q: What do you do at 2HJ?
I basically coordinate the volunteers. The main volunteer activities happen Thursday through Saturday, so throughout the week I act as the point person for recruiting and signing up the number of volunteers needed for the activities, and on the day of the activities I assign the job responsibilities and oversee all the work.
Q: How do you spend your time when you’re not at 2HJ?
I work as a conference interpreter. Doing simultaneous interpretation, you work in a booth in total isolation; if you lose your concentration for even a moment, you miss what’s being said and can’t do your job. For me, it’s almost like some kind of ascetic training, trying to find that point where I cease to be aware of my own existence and can truly focus. The active cooperation of working with various people to produce something at 2HJ is the polar opposite of interpreting, and I feel that both are necessary jobs for my life.
Q: What are your hopes for contributing to 2HJ?
My first impression of 2HJ’s volunteers was of the overwhelmingly abundant number of people who signed up for or were interested in volunteering, as well as the fact that many of the volunteers were non-Japanese and had experience volunteering in their own countries. The volunteers are diverse not just in terms of nationality; they represent a variety of ages, viewpoints, and backgrounds. I’m realizing day by day what a treasure trove of resources this diversity amounts to. I think the richness of its volunteer base is 2HJ’s strength, and my goal is to make the best use possible of that invaluable power.
Interviewer: Patricia Decker
Link to News story »Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Book on Second Harvest Japan to go on sale July 18, 2008
On July 18, 2008, a book on Second Harvest Japan titled The Challenge of Food Banking: Between Poverty and Plenty, written by Etsuko Ohara, will be published by Iwanami Shoten.
This is the first book to cover food banking from its birth in America to the stage it has reached today in Japan.
Making something that’s “not quite perfect” useful to society. This new angle reveals wealth and strength that give insights into every aspect of our own lives.
What is food banking?
Perfectly edible food is thrown away in large amounts every day. A label might be crooked, or a box might be dented. “Not quite perfect” means not saleable; just one imperfection is enough. At the same time, in the supposedly affluent country of Japan, many people have trouble affording the food they need.
Taking food that would otherwise have been thrown away and redirecting it to those who need it: this is the work of a food bank. Food companies reduce their disposal costs while people in need save on grocery bills. This unique system provides a new social service that benefits everyone by transforming “what a waste” into “thank you.” Food banking has entered the public limelight, and efforts are under way to spread the activity throughout Japan.
A little thing, something you can do. A lot of those little things put together can add up to a power that changes society. This book is offered with a hope that each person who reads it will be inspired to take a fresh look at how they eat and live, even just a little.
Price: 1,900 yen (plus tax)
Details
Language: Japanese
Length: 200 pages
Orders
Please order at your local bookshop, or contact:
Iwanami Shoten Book Order Section (Shipping costs will apply)
Phone: 049-287-5742 (Monday-Friday 9:00-17:00)
Link to News story »
Monday, May 26, 2008
Harvest News: 2008 Issue No. 2
Harvest News, Second Harvest Japan’s newsletter, contains stories and information related to 2HJ and food banking in Japan. Download this color version to share with friends, family, and coworkers!
Contents for 2008 Issue No. 2 include:
-Chilled deliveries with new vehicle
-Growing with new warehouse space
-Daikon gleaning
-Global FoodBanking Network visit
-Volunteer story: Friday cooking
-2HJ news bites
Click to view 2008 Issue No. 2 [PDF: 2,665 KB]
Link to News story »RSS
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