[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 120 (Wednesday, July 20, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E759]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING MR. WILLY ELLIOT-McCREA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JIMMY PANETTA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 20, 2022

  Mr. PANETTA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the retirement 
of Mr. Willy Elliot-McCrea from the Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz 
County after thirty-three years of dedicated service to communities 
across the central coast of California. The Second Harvest Food Bank 
Santa Cruz County was the first food bank in California and the second 
in the nation--it was founded in 1972 as an emergency food pantry to 
distribute U.S. Department of Agriculture surplus food as a part of the 
Community Action Board in the City of Santa Cruz.
  Mr. Elliott-McCrea began his public service career with the Second 
Harvest Food Bank in 1979 as the warehouse manager and driver, later 
taking on the responsibility of purchasing food. In that same year, he 
represented Second Harvest Food Bank as one of thirteen founding 
members of Feeding America. In 1988, Mr. Elliott-McCrea was promoted to 
Executive Director and later to Chief Executive Officer in 1993, the 
position he held until retirement. Shortly after his promotion to 
Executive Director, the 6.9 magnitude Loma Prieta Earthquake devastated 
Santa Cruz and surrounding areas in October 1989. The Food Bank became 
ground zero for disaster relief, with the number of people served 
dramatically increasing from 15,000 per month to 25,000 people per 
week.
  Throughout his time with the Second Harvest Foodbank, Mr. Elliott-
McCrea helped guide statewide policy, championing progress in food 
security resources. He energized the Second Harvest Board of Directors 
to change its mission to be more community-focused, thus pioneering a 
new model for food banks and inspiring emergency feeding operations 
nationwide. To this day, food bank distributions operate around a 
network of community-based food pantries in senior residential living 
centers, homeless service centers, schools, churches, and neighborhood 
resource centers.
  Mr. Elliott-McCrea led Second Harvest Food Bank through natural 
disasters, recessions, and, most recently, the coronavirus pandemic. In 
2011, Second Harvest provided an average of 6.7 million pounds of fresh 
fruits and vegetables to the Santa Cruz community, but in the first 
year of the pandemic, Second Harvest's operations grew to providing 
16.5 million pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables. In addition to his 
role with Second Harvest, Mr. Elliott-McCrea also served as the 
founding president of the California Association of Food Banks (CAFB) 
from 1995 to 1998 and again from 2019 to 2021. The CAFB ensures its 
coalition of 41-member food banks have the tools and resources to focus 
on feeding communities across California. The Association also provides 
Nutrition Education Programs that work with community volunteers to 
provide Nutrition Support Groups and Cooking Clubs.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues in the House of Representatives to 
join me in recognizing and thanking Willy Elliot-McCrea for his decades 
of service. His leadership and dedication to public service have shaped 
the food bank community not just in Santa Cruz County, but across the 
nation. I extend my personal appreciation to Mr. Willy Elliot-McCrea 
and his dedication to the central coast of California.

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