Thursday, December 21, 2006
Financial Assistance from Nu Skin Japan helps 2HJ Expand Programs
Download full press release here. Summary follows.
Tokyo, 20 December 2006 – Second Harvest Japan, a unique non-profit corporation operating a food bank system, has announced that it has received a grant of 18 million yen (monthly 1.5 million yen) from Nu Skin Japan’s “Force for Good Fund”. With this grant, Second Harvest Japan will be able to further energize and expand its food assistance programs to help provide food to the needy throughout Japan.
Charles McJilton, Executive Director of Second Harvest Japan, commented: “We are profoundly grateful for the understanding and continued assistance of Nu Skin Japan. We are painfully aware of the reality that a vast amount of perfectly good food is thrown away when there are many living amongst us who are in need. Second Harvest Japan will fully utilize the grant and continue working to reinforce the infrastructure and enhance its food assistance program in order to better serve those in need.”
Media Inquiries:
Gavin Anderson & Company
Tel. 03-5404-0640
John Short, Yianoula Morris
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Heinz Japan: Three years and counting food donor to Second Harvest Japan
It was the summer of 2003. On his way home, Paul Mori, a director of Heinz Japan Ltd., saw the words “Food Bank” on a van parked on the side of the road. An Internet search at home led him to the web site for Food Bank Japan (Second Harvest Japan’s name until late 2004), through which he would later contact Executive Director Charles McJilton.
“In my country, America, it’s the norm for big food companies to cooperate with food banks. I had been wondering why such activities didn’t exist in Japan, and I just happened to see the van,” explains Paul. He quickly brought the matter up with management and Heinz Japan decided to start donating excess inventory.
Although the company is best known for its familiar bottles of ketchup and specialty cooking products like its demi-glace sauce, the monthly average of 350 kg of food products Heinz Japan has been donating to Second Harvest Japan includes a wide variety of soups and soup bases, curry, and even frozen products.
“As an example of our situation, we need to provide products to our clients with a certain number of days remaining before expiration, so we have to dispose of items that are still perfectly edible, but are not saleable. Making food with the goal that people will enjoy it only to have that food thrown away is the most painful thing for someone working in a food company,” says Heinz Japan Chairman, President, and CEO Sergio Sousa. The food that used to go to waste now helps people who need it. On top of that, because the company saves on the cost of storage and disposal, “Everyone ends up happy.”
Sousa, who spent a long time working in several countries in Africa, feels deep concern for the problems of food security. Recently, he volunteered with Second Harvest Japan, helping to deliver vegetables, juice, and other items to a children’s care facility. For the future, Sousa would like to set up a program through which all Heinz Japan employees could volunteer once a month.
Heinz Japan Chairman, President, and CEO Sergio Sousa volunteers with 2HJ Resource Coordinator, Yusuke Wada
“In Portugal, where I come from, food banking is very active, as in America. The tax system and the corporate system support the volunteer organizations; the result is two meals per day on the tables of 220,000 people—365 days a year,” says Sousa. “In this, Portugal far exceeds Japan. While Japan rushes to extend a helping hand when a disaster happens overseas, aren’t the problems of the needy here within the country going unnoticed?”
From a happenstance encounter with a parked Second Harvest Japan vehicle to a firm relationship based upon commitment with action, Heinz Japan has demonstrated that food need not go to waste and that you, the individual, and you the company can make all the difference and thereby make this a better world.
Writer: Etsuko Ohara
Link to News story »
Monday, November 13, 2006
Show your support with a 2HJ magnet!
Stick it on your car, your fridge at work or home, or anything else made of metal! These ribbon-shaped magnets communicate our shared mission of “Food for All People.”
Available through 2HJ for 1000 yen (small magnet) or 1500 yen (large magnet). You can also pick them up at outlets including Sony Plaza and Autobacs!
Link to News story »Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Watch Online: OurPlanet TV Interviews 2HJ Resource Coordinator Yusuke Wada
OurPlanet TV’s Rika Kobayashi interviewed Yusuke Wada today about hunger and food banking in Japan. The basic function of a food bank – to take in food from donors and redistribute it to those in need – is still not widely known in this country.
Some facts mentioned in the 23-minute interview may surprise viewers: 650 thousand people lack food security in Japan and 19.5 million are living below the poverty line. This need is coupled with a system that makes donating food difficult even for companies that want to give; they are taxed when they donate an amount of food that exceeds the government’s current cutoff line.
Watch the interview online (in Japanese only)! It will be the featured item on OurPlanet TV’s web site for two weeks.
Link to News story »Friday, October 20, 2006
Harvest for Hunger 2006 Draws 170 Attendees
The third annual Harvest for Hunger was held on Sunday, October 15 at Fujimamas in Omotesando. With a record 170 people in attendance, the event was a genuine success, reaching out to many concerned residents in Tokyo and the surrounding areas. With the goal of raising awareness about Second Harvest Japan’s mission, Harvest for Hunger featured an address by executive director Charles McJilton, and during dinner guests were invited to learn more about food banking and volunteer opportunities at information tables set up in the restaurant.
At the three tables upstairs, attendees learned about a variety of food banking issues. Seisei Shibata spoke with attendees about the efforts she and her husband, Kousaku, have made to spread the idea and practice of food banking in Japan; the couple has been with 2HJ from the beginning. Yusuke Wada, Resource Coordinator, recounted his experiences at U.S. food banks and talked about how he is putting the lessons he learned into practice here in Japan. Michelle Ryan shared her stories about some of the 80 families and individuals to whom she provides weekly emergency groceries as the coordinator of 2HJ’s Harvest Pantry. The pantry provides a service that otherwise does not exist in Japan and is 2HJ’s fastest growing sector. At the information table downstairs, attendees could sign up to volunteer and to receive information about volunteering; Co-Volunteer Coordinator Patricia Decker was there to chat about volunteering and answer any questions.
Those in attendance left with a stronger sense of the underserved communities in Tokyo and learned more about Second Harvest’s objective to collect otherwise-wasted food and redistribute it to those who need it most. Many thanks to everyone who attended Harvest for Hunger, and special thanks to Fujimamas for supporting the evening. Thank you also to the Planning Committee for selling tickets and to the volunteers who helped to make the night run smoothly: Leland and Carolyn Gaskins, Teri Scott, Masahiko Shibata, Leah Mitchell, Anna Maria Dew, and Ashley Rudisill. Together we can make hunger history!
Writer: Ashley Rudisill
Photos: Daniel Perez
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