Second Harvest Japan - What's New?

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Welcome to Second Harvest Japan!

Thanks to your support, Second Harvest Japan delivered about 1.3 million servings of food to 200,000 people in need such as children in orphanages and women’s shelters in 2009. But, in Japan, there are still many people in need of our help while a lot of safe and edible food are thrown away for various reasons. We want to deliver more food to those in need. In order to make this happen, we need your help. Thank you very much for your support!

We need your support!!
・Make a donation
Now online donation is available!

If you like this story, you might also enjoy:

Office Manager Masahiro Otake’s U.S. Food Bank Travelogue Vol. 1

2HJ’s new video - Thank you very much for your support!

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Link to News story »

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is food banking?
•Food banking matches surplus food with welfare agencies, organizations, and groups that support those in need. This surplus food comes from a wide variety of sources such as manufacturers, importers, distributers, supermarkets, farmers, and individuals.

2. When was food banking started?
•Food banking was started in 1967 in Phoenix, Arizona by John Van Hengel when he established St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance of Arizona.

3. What is Second Harvest Japan?
•We are the national food bank in Japan.
•This is an outline of our activities:

4. When was it established?
•Food banking began in January 2000 when representatives from hot meal programs and individuals met in Sanya, Tokyo to discuss how they could work more closely together to gather food supplies for their own programs.
•For two year this group worked together on various activities.

5. Who started food banking in Japan?
•Hiroshi Fujita called the first meeting in January 2000. At this meeting he and Charles McJilton were selected as co-representatives. Makoto Yuasa joined several months later and became a co-representative.
•Charles McJilton was the actual food banking pioneer. He travelled to the US in 2000 and visited the headquarters of Feeding America (then America’s Second Harvest) and met with Chris Rebstock, who is now acting CEO of the Global FoodBanking Network
•Charles went on to incorporate the first food bank in Japan on March 11, 2002.

6. How many people live below the poverty line?
•According to data supplied to the OECD by the Japanese government, the poverty rate for Japan 15.7%.

7. How much food is thrown away each year?
•Between 5-9 million tons according the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries.

8. Do you accept expired food?
•No we do not.

9. How do you support your operations?
•We completely funded by donations.

10. Do you accept clothes?
•Unfortunately, we do not. However, The Salvation Army does accept clothing for their thrift shop.

11. Why do food donors give food to Second Harvest Japan for free? What benefit do they receive?
•There are four benefits to donating:
① Saving on disposal and return costs. In 2010 donors will save roughly \80 million.
② Improved employee morale. No company likes to destroy their own product. Employees report feeling better about their own company knowing it donates instead of dumping.
③ CSR: In 2010 companies donated more than \500 million worth of food.
④ Free marketing: Through a food bank, companies are able to get their products out to potential new users.

12. What type of legal entity is Second Harvest Japan?
•We are an NPO.

13. How many people is Second Harvest Japan serving food to?
•We deliver food to approximately 150 agencies each month in the Kanto area.
•At least once a month, our truck will deliver food outside of the Kanto area.
•Throughout the year we deliver nationally using a logistic service.
•We estimated that in 2009 we delivered 1.3 million meals to approximately 200,000 people.

14. How many food companies and farmers are donating food to Second Harvest Japan?
•There are currently more than 500 companies that have donated to us since 2002.

15. Why did Second Harvest Japan and other food banks form the national food bank network? What is the purpose of the network?
•Second Harvest Japan has been promoting the development of food banking since its incorporation in 2002.
•In 2008, 2009, and 2010 we conducted the National Food Bank Caravan in which we travelled throughout Japan meeting with local food banks, groups interested in food banking, and welfare agencies.
•In 2008, 2009, and 2010 we hosted the National Food Bank Symposium to bring together groups involved in food banking.
•In consultation with members of our Food Advisory Board (FAB) we created standards in 2009 and presented them at the 2009 National Food Bank Symposium for comment.
•In 2010 these standards were ratified by 10 other food banks.
•The standards lay down guidelines for how a food bank should operate, how food should be handled, and how agencies should be dealt with.

16. How many people are working at Second Harvest Japan?
•We currently have five full-time staff and eight part-time staff

17. I want to volunteer at Second Harvest Japan, what should I do?
•Go to our “Volunteer Time” page, fill out the Volunteer Form, and send it to us.

18. Is my donation tax deductible?
•Unfortunately, donations are not tax deductible
•However, if you are US citizen, or pay taxes in the US, we do have a non-profit in the US we work with that can provide with you a tax-deductible alternative. They are called Second Harvest Asia.

19. Typically what kinds of food are donated to Second Harvest Japan?
•The majority of our food is shelf-stable, non-perishable products such as canned or dry goods.
•We also pick up produce and bread each day at several Costco stores.
•We have the logistics to pick up and store chilled and frozen donations.

20. Are those food safe to eat?
•Yes. All of our food is guaranteed by the donor that it is safe for human consumption and follows all laws and regulations regarding food.

21. What is the Second Harvest Japan’s future plan?
•Our goal is to see the creation of a “Food Lifeline” and “Food Safety Net”

Link to News story »

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Our office will be closed from Dec 26 through Jan 5

Our office will be closed from Dec 26, 2010 through Jan 5, 2011. Please contact us on Jan 6 or later at the following:

Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Phone: 03-3838-3827

Hope you have a happy holiday season. Thank you!

We need your support!!
・Make a donation
Now online donation is available!

If you like this story, you might also enjoy:

Office Manager Masahiro Otake’s U.S. Food Bank Travelogue Vol. 1

2HJ’s new video - Thank you very much for your support!

Link to News story »

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Amazon Japan Donated Canned Goods to Second Harvest Japan!

Amazon Japan held a food drive and donated canned goods to us.

Thank you Amazon Japan for your generous donation of canned goods. You food drive will inspire others to do the same and the food you collected will go to needy families this winter. We wish you all the best for this holiday season.

Executive Director Charles McJilton visited the Amazon Japan’s office to pick up the food donation.