The publication is reproduced in full below:
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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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 120(1), Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 120(2)
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