You may be familiar with an organization called Second Harvest. Now you need to know it by the name, Feeding America. The new name was announced September 1. George Braley (front left) is their Senior Vice President of Government Relations and Public Policy. He was one of the people on hand Tuesday at their regional network member, Second Harvest Heartland, to bring attention to the needs of hungry Americans. He says the name was changed to better reflect their mission and to better relate with Americans.
George says AgNite provided a great opportunity to bring attention to the name change and also to Hunger Action Month. He says this month is being celebrated by food banks and other anti-hunger organizations.
Besides the food packing event held in conjunction with the RNC, he says they also conducted one in Denver at the DNC. He says hunger is an issue from which you can draw support from both parties.
According to George, Feeding America distributes over 2 billion pounds of food a year with a goal of 3 billion. Much of it comes from private donations but a lot comes from state and national government programs too. He says they have a team on the ground in Louisiana to see how to best provide food aid to needy people. If you’re interested in helping their efforts, here’s where you can learn more.
Listen to my interview with George here: agnite-08-braley.mp3
Be sure to check out the AgNite Photo Album for 200 pictures from the event.
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Helping educate the people attending AgNite was 
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AgNite was really an incredible event on several levels. The participation on the part of the agricultural community was impressive with over 50 companies and organizations involved. The Minnesota Agri-Growth Council staff was awesome. From 3pm to 3am it was non-stop activity, with people like Cindy and me needing assistance. The staff smiled throughout it all. There’s too many people to thank but I would like to thank Leslie Shuler in particular since she has been our primary contact for the project. It was an event we’ll always remember.
Joe Swedberg is Vice President of Legislative Affairs of 
The primary purpose of AgNite was to showcase and educate attendees about agriculture. 
One of the thousands who attended the non-partisan 
There is no question that AgNite is THE “go-to” event in the Twin Cities this second evening of the Republican National Convention. Organizers were expecting 3-4,000 and that expectation has been surpassed. As someone said, “What if you threw a party and everyone showed up?” It sure seems like that has happened here.
The event is being held in the historic downtown Minneapolis Depot, which is packed with people. “My biggest fear was that there wouldn’t be anybody here,” Paul said. “That didn’t happen.”