Beaver Street Fisheries helps Second Harvest distribute meals for Thanksgiving

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Nov. 18, 2011) — Employees of Beaver Street Fisheries, one of North America’s largest seafood distributors, helped hand out Thanksgiving meals to2,500 underprivileged families today at EverBank Field, home of the Jacksonville Jaguars. The effort was coordinated by Second Harvest North Florida, a private, nonprofit organization that collects and distributes donated food to partner agencies in a 17-county area.

Turkeys and traditional side dishes such as stuffing, corn, green beans, cranberry sauce and yams were handed out on a first come, first serve basis beginning at 9 a.m. in the parking lot of EverBank Field. A total of 40 volunteers were on hand to help pass out foodstuffs.

Second Harvest sought to serve needy families who may not otherwise have a fulfilling Thanksgiving Day meal. Patrons found out about the event through local news outlets just a day before the distribution.

Beaver Street Fisheries is a long-time supporter of Second Harvest, providing fish or seafood for 57,000 meals in just the last year. Beaver Street Fisheries’ flagship brand, Sea Best, is sold in retail outlets throughout the eastern and central United States.

“Donations of fish products once or more quarterly is a blessing, rating right up at the top among those products we can never see enough of,” said Paul R. Bell, Second Harvest’s project manager/grants coordinator.

Second Harvest can expect to see more philanthropic outreach from the company in the coming months, said Mark Frisch, Beaver Street’s executive vice president.

“Beaver Street Fisheries has been a part of the Jacksonville community for more than 60 years and has always been eager to help those who are struggling, especially around the holidays,” said Frisch.

About Second Harvest North Florida

The mission of Second Harvest North Florida is to distribute food and grocery products to hungry people and to educate the public about the causes and possible solutions to problems of domestic hunger. The nonprofit organization serves agencies in a 17-county area including Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Levy, Nassau, Putnam, St. Johns, Suwannee and Union counties.