Second Helpings Awards Lenny
Jonathan Calvis rescued more than 70,000 pounds of food in 2017.
Food rescue organization Second Helpings Atlanta honored Jonathan Calvis with the Lenny Award as its volunteer of the year at its annual Volunteer Appreciation Event on Jan. 21 at Temple Sinai.
The award, created in honor of Lenny Greenstein, a former Second Helpings volunteer, was presented by President Sheri Labovitz and Executive Director Joe Labriola.
“Jonathan was responsible for the majority of routes requiring the use of our refrigerated truck in 2017, and he is always willing to take on an additional route as the need arises. Our truck routes are required for our largest pickups and often take half a day to complete. In the last 12 months alone, he has rescued more than 70,000 pounds of food, enough to provide nearly 58,000 meals to those in need,” Labriola said. “He is an inspiration to all of us.”
Nearly 400 volunteer drivers use their own vehicles along routes on which they pick up surplus food at a donor’s location, deliver it to a partner agency and return to the starting point within 90 minutes.
The average run rescues 207 pounds of food, or 173 meals.
In 2017, Second Helpings rescued 1,530,976 pounds of food, a 13 percent increase from 2016, including 22,035 pounds from Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Philips Arena.
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