Lake Elsinore Humanitarian To Receive Special Honor

A Riverside-based nonprofit that distributes food for the needy throughout the Inland Empire is planning a fundraiser Saturday to support what the charity's representatives say is an expanding number of people unable to provide for themselves.   

The Second Harvest Food Bank's "A Passport to End Hunger'' -- scheduled from 6-10 p.m. Saturday at the National Orange Show Events Center in San Bernardino -- will feature musical entertainment, exhibits and international cuisine.

The event will also see honor paid to a local humanitarian who serves Elsinore Valley’s less fortunate.

will be honored for finding new ways to deliver food to the needy in outlying areas of Lake Elsinore. 

For more than 20 years, the non-profit H.O.P.E. has been serving the less fortunate in Elsinore Valley through its food ministry. Hewison has been at the helm for a little under a decade.

In 2009-10, H.O.P.E. provided 729,000 meals to area poor. While the organization does not turns its back on anyone in need, it mostly serves seniors, grandparents caring for grandchildren, single parents raising teenagers (“teens eat more”), and people on disability nearing social security eligibility, according to Hewison.

H.O.P.E. also receives daily referrals from the Department of Public Social Services, and the organization serves walk-ins.

Operating out of a 3,500 square-foot facility on 2nd Street in Lake Elsinore, H.O.P.E. has a food pantry, as well as a toy and clothing ministry. The location also serves as a hub for its vans that pick up and deliver donations.

For its part, Second Harvest distributes food to more than 450 churches, soup kitchens and food pantries in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, with demand for donations increasing 40 percent over the last four years, according to the nonprofit.   

“Families that used to depend on two incomes now have to get by on one, while others who faced layoffs in recent years now find themselves competing for low-wage jobs that literally do not provide enough income for people to adequately feed themselves or their children,” said Second Harvest Marketing Director Tracylyn Sharrit.   

Around 300,000 Inland Empire residents rely on food assistance provided by Second Harvest each month, she said.

More information on the Second Harvest fundraiser and how to make a donation is available by calling (951) 359-4757.

For more information on donating to H.O.P.E., click here. --City News Service contributed to this report.