Second Harvest of the Big Bend has named John Martin as the food bank’s 2020 “Volunteer of the Year.” Martin is an inaugural member of Second Harvest’s Volunteer Hall of Fame, and is a Legacy-level award winner, with more than 1,500 volunteer service hours dedicated.
“We are thrilled to recognize John as our volunteer of the year,” said Shari Hubbard, director of community relations for Second Harvest. “John epitomizes dedication, leadership and positivity; in short, he is a dream volunteer,” she added.
Martin has a long history with Second Harvest. As a district manager for Arnold©, he began delivering bread donations to the food bank in 2008, becoming familiar with the food bank’s mission and operations. He then served on Second Harvest’s Board of Directors for a year, and after his retirement, he became an avid volunteer. Each year, John and his fellow volunteers inspect and pack hundreds of thousands of pounds of food for distribution to Second Harvest’s partner agencies in the Big Bend.
Florida food bank volunteers are designated as essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Second Harvest practices social distancing and provides volunteers with personal safety equipment including gloves, masks and hand sanitizer.
“Our volunteers are service heroes, and they are critical to Second Harvest’s ability to continue providing food for our community’s most vulnerable citizens, especially now,” said Hubbard.
Second Harvest also honored 16 volunteers with the President’s Volunteer Service Award, including Martin, who earned a “Gold” award for 500 service hours during the past year. David Mueller received a silver award, and the following volunteers received the bronze service award: Kristine Lamont, Wayne McDaniel, Nat Toulon, Jimbo Harrison, Diane Gomez, Bettie Grant, Charlotte Hicks, Christine Franzetti, Jeanette Deatherage, Wilson Enfinger, Fred Karuga, Brian Lupiani and Austin Tatum.
About Second Harvest of the Big Bend
Second Harvest food bank’s mission is to feed the hungry in the Big Bend through a network of partner agencies, and to educate and engage the community in the fight to end hunger. One in five people (97,000) face hunger in the Big Bend. Fight hunger in your community! Visit www.FightingHunger.org for information.
