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You might be more familiar with this organization than you think. If you were a denizen of Fooldom last year, you'll remember Foodchain, the organization we supported that rescued millions of pounds of perishable food across the United States and rushed it to hungry people in hundreds of homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and similar places. Well, in an unusual move for the non-profit sector, Foodchain merged earlier this year with America's Second Harvest, which ran a network of nearly 200 food banks, supplying hungry Americans with primarily non-perishable foods. It was a sensible combination.

Today America's Second Harvest is the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief outfit, feeding 26 million hungry Americans annually, including 8 million children. Last year it distributed 1.5 billion pounds of food, serving all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Its goal is epic: to end hunger in America. The Chronicle of Philanthropy has given America's Second Harvest an efficiency rating of 99.3%, meaning that 99.3% of all donations go directly to programs.

This year, all Fool-donated money will go toward helping build out the Community Kitchen program pioneered by Foodchain. When a region has a Community Kitchen, it means that food -- rescued, for example, from restaurants, hotel banquets, or delis -- can be taken there first, where it can be stretched to feed more people. (A pot roast, for instance, can be mixed with rice or pasta.)

Community Kitchens are also comprehensive job-training programs, providing training to scores of individuals each year in both job and life skills, while actively assisting them in obtaining jobs that pay a living wage. Long-term support is also offered, to ensure job retention.

It costs just $5,000 to get a community close to opening a Community Kitchen. An additional $25,000 to $40,000 is often needed as seed money to get one opened and serving the community. With $100,000, America's Second Harvest can help five to 10 communities begin planning for a local Community Kitchen and help one to two new programs open. Let's see if we can raise even more than that for them!

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