The university gave 325 frozen turkeys to its faculty and staff, and donated another 325 to Community Food Bank. The turkeys, from J&D Distributors, were given to CFB December 10 in the Steinert Campus Center parking area at the main FPU campus.
"Looking back at 2010, Fresno Pacific University has been richly blessed despite the economic issues that have challenged so many businesses, organizations and institutions," said President D. Merrill Ewert. "We want to share the bounty."
Blake Mycoskie's visit October 27, when he spoke to 1,200 community business leaders at Fresno Pacific's Business Forum, left a strong impression. Mycoskie is founder of TOMS Shoes, which gives one pair of shoes to a needy child for each pair sold. FPU and CFB have made the TOMS one-for-one business and giving philosophy into bird-for-bird.
Sunny the Sunbird, FPU's mascot, cried fowl when this plan was hatched, until it was pointed out that sunbirds are not on the Thanksgiving menu. Now he squawks he'll be right at the head of the bird brigade, helping to transfer frozen turkeys from the J&D truck to the one from Community Food Bank.
"He's got a good wing, and the eyes of an eagle. We'd recruit him for the baseball team, but that's during his nesting season," Ewert said.
The statistics on hunger in our Valley—supposedly the "land of plenty"—are alarming. One in six Central Valley residents is food-insecure, meaning they do not know where their next meal is coming from. Even more sobering is the fact that one in four children live in food insecure households.
"This season, 325 Central Valley families will be blessed by this one-for-one effort," said CEO, Andy Souza. "We appreciate the generosity of our fine—feathered—friends at FPU."