Businessman. He founded the concept of food banking. As a volunteer with a charity helping some of the poorest people in Phoenix, Arizona he noticed that many grocery stores wasted food by discarding products nearing their use-by-date. His collection efforts were so successful that the local centers could not absorb the volume of food. As a result St. Mary's Food Bank, the first food bank in the world appeared in 1967. The idea quickly caught on. Today, the network of food banks in the United States numbers more than 200. Van Hengel also served as the first director of "America's Second Harvest" - the largest domestic charitable hunger relief organization in the United States, and the fifth largest charitable organization overall. In addition he worked for many years as a consultant to United States cities starting their own food banks. He also traveled the world teaching other countries how to set up food banks which are now in operation throughout Europe and in many other countries, including Israel, Australia and Mexico. Buried in his hometown of Waupun, Wisconsin.
Businessman. He founded the concept of food banking. As a volunteer with a charity helping some of the poorest people in Phoenix, Arizona he noticed that many grocery stores wasted food by discarding products nearing their use-by-date. His collection efforts were so successful that the local centers could not absorb the volume of food. As a result St. Mary's Food Bank, the first food bank in the world appeared in 1967. The idea quickly caught on. Today, the network of food banks in the United States numbers more than 200. Van Hengel also served as the first director of "America's Second Harvest" - the largest domestic charitable hunger relief organization in the United States, and the fifth largest charitable organization overall. In addition he worked for many years as a consultant to United States cities starting their own food banks. He also traveled the world teaching other countries how to set up food banks which are now in operation throughout Europe and in many other countries, including Israel, Australia and Mexico. Buried in his hometown of Waupun, Wisconsin.
Bio by: Bonnie (Gallagher) Gilson Osborn
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