Second Harvest Community Food Bank in Saint Joseph is preparing to launch its Annual Fund Campaign: Hunger is Here, So is the Solution.

 The campaign that serves Northwest Missouri and Northeast Kansas will begin on Thursday and run through April 30.

 They have set an aggressive goal to raise nearly $200,000 from this campaign.

 The funds raised are unrestricted, meaning they will be directed to where the need is greatest.

 Such needs include mobilizing eligible individuals to have access to critical nutrition assistance programs, generate 361,000 meals, create $1.6 million in economic activity, open 40 sites by June 2014, and serve 1,500 children by June 2014.

 Second Harvest’s Chief Development Officer Rachel Graves says they plan to increase help for senior citizens as well.

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 Graves says they also want to revolutionize the nonprofit food distribution chain.

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 Currently, Harvest House Food Pantry serves 400 individuals.
 
 Second Harvest’s CEO, David Davenport, will also be participating in a Food Stamp Challenge to coincide with the start of our fund campaign during the month of March.

 Each week, a new person will partner with Davenport on his journey.

 Davenport and his partners will live on a Food Stamp budget of $28 a week.

 This month-long journey will show the struggles Food Stamp recipients endure each month.

  Davenport will document his journey through Second Harvest’s blog.