Want to know a fun way to provide one million meals to hungry families and individuals in Pierce County? Find 30+ sponsors, round up 450 people with big hearts, offer them the chance to bid on generous gifts from over 150 local merchants and supporters, serve a great dinner, and then top it off by asking folks to “dig a little bit deeper” to support Emergency Food Network’s mission “to provide a reliable food supply so that no person in Pierce County goes hungry.
For anyone who has ever been to charity auction, you know the drill: browse, bid, eat, drink—but EFN’s Abundance Auction is about the health of our community. It’s about raising 10% of the funds needed to accommodate 1.3 million annual visits to the 67 food banks, meal sites, and shelters in our county. It’s about using the funds to pump over one million pounds of nutritious food into the local emergency food system.
“Unfortunately, the number of hungry people in our county is at an all-time high, but we 100% love events like this where we can celebrate the generosity that literally feeds our community.” Says Executive Director Helen McGovern.
Auction Chair and EFN Board Member Stephanie Schramm expects this year’s event to again highlight the direct impact EFN has on our local community. “All of EFN’s food stays within Pierce County and I can directly see the good they do.”
The Abundance Auction starts at 6pm on Saturday, October 27 at the McGavick Center at Clover Park Technical College. Dinner and a live auction will follow the silent auction. This year’s presenting sponsors are Waste Connections and the Franciscan Foundation. Key Sponsors are Business Examiner, Host Hospitality, Murray Pacific and Schnitzer. Supporting Sponsors are Columbia Bank, Gordon Thomas Honeywell and Mountain View Funeral Home.
All funds go towards EFN’s amazing powers of magnification. The organization distributes $12 worth of food for every $1 it receives, thanks to its ability buy truckloads of food in bulk and to source millions of pounds of donated food. EFN expects to distribute 14 million pounds of food in 2012 to help area programs accommodate a 50% increase in demand since 2008. Each client visit costs EFN about $1.55, which provides 9 meals. EFN’s goal for the event is to raise $215,000, which would provide more than 1.1 million meals.
To buy tickets or to donate to EFN, visit www.efoodnet.org and click on the events page or donate button, or call 253-584-1040, or email abundance@efoodnet.org.
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