[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 41 (Thursday, March 13, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3724-S3725]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          COMMENDING THE HUMANITARIAN WORK OF JOHN VAN HENGEL

 Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I rise today to honor a great 
American, a man whose tireless efforts on behalf of needy people 
everywhere are an inspiration to us all. February 21 of this year 
marked the 80th birthday of my constituent, John van Hengel, who has 
become known as the ``Father of Food Banking.'' His vision for feeding 
the hungry and his work making that vision a reality has made a 
tremendous difference in the lives of millions of people.
  John van Hengel's work is a testament to the ability of one person to 
change the world for the better. In 1965, John was a businessman who 
volunteered some of his spare time to the St. Vincent de Paul Society 
in Phoenix, AZ. In the course of his volunteer work, John saw there was 
a need for additional food for the Society's soup kitchen. In the 
course of his work, John met a woman who had to collect food from 
grocery store garbage bins to feed her 10 children. That needy mother 
told John that there should be a place where surplus food could be 
stored and available to people who needed it, instead of being thrown 
out and wasted. As he looked around for ways to better serve the needy 
people he met, John noticed that fruit was being left unpicked on 
suburban backyard trees around Phoenix. John recruited volunteers to 
gather fruit that remained in area fields after harvesting. He then 
delivered these much needed fruits and vegetables to various local 
churches. With John's leadership, one of the Nation's first 
``gleaning'' projects became a reality.
  John recruited the local grocery stores and asked them to donate 
surplus food. John also approached his local church, and the church 
responded by loaning John $3,000 and an abandoned building. In 1967, 
John van Hengel founded the world's first food bank, named St. Mary's 
in honor of the church that housed it. Thus was born the first food 
bank and the concept of food banking--a central source for food 
donations and distribution to a wide range of local charitable agencies 
that feed the hungry.
  After the creation of the St. Mary's Food Bank, John founded Second 
Harvest in 1976. With the help of private donations and State and 
Federal grants, John helped to set up and develop Second Harvest food 
banks in other nearby communities in Arizona, California, and other 
States. The success of these new food banks led to Second Harvest 
becoming formally incorporated in 1979. Today, it is known as America's 
Second Harvest, the Nation's largest hunger relief charity and a 
nationwide network of more than 200 regional food banks and good rescue 
organizations that provide food and other services to more than 50,000 
local charitable agencies.
  In 1982, John van Hengel stepped down from his full-time role at 
Second Harvest to pursue his work of spreading food banking 
internationally. In 1984, John van Hengel founded Food Banking, Inc., a 
nonprofit food bank consulting organization. John helped spread the 
notion of food banking and volunteerism in an international capacity, 
first in Canada through the creation of the Canadian Association of 
Food Banks, then to France, and to Belgium. Today, the Federation of 
European Food Banks meets regularly to discuss experiences and ways to 
expand the work of its members. Recently, the idea of food banking has 
spread to Brazil, Israel, Mexico, and Japan. John van Hengel's vision, 
first articulated

[[Page S3725]]

and acted upon in Phoenix in 1967, is the first link in an 
international chain of food banks and compassion for the neediest among 
us.
  John van Hengel's food banking idea is simple, but like all truly 
great ideas, it took the efforts of one man working for a lifetime to 
reach fruition. Because John van Hengel was the need to help hungry 
people, he created a concept to address that need. Dozens of countries 
and millions of people now have a powerful weapon against hunger.
  In the wake of his 80th birthday, it is a privilege in honor John van 
Hengel for his noble dedication to feeding the hungry. His vision and 
leadership continue to greatly impact the lives of millions throughout 
the United States and the world.

                          ____________________