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In the late 1960s, van Hengel was divorced and went about a plan to change his life. He quit his career in public relations and moved to Phoenix, Ariz., and "stumbled into do-gooding," he once said: he decided to help feed hungry people. "One day I tried to pawn off this idea of mine on the priests at St. Mary's," he remembered. "I told them what we needed in this town was a clearinghouse for all the surplus food from the various markets -- food just getting thrown away -- and they said, 'Good idea. Do it.' They got me a building and a little funding so quick I couldn't get out of it." Later, a surprise donation of $10,000 really got things into gear. It was 1967, and van Hengel had created the first "food bank". In its first year, the St. Mary's Food Bank distributed about 250,000 pounds of food. In its last fiscal year, it distributed about 60 million pounds of food. Van Hengel went on to consult with other cities on how to set up food banks. He also helped found America's Second Harvest, an association of more than 200 food banks. "John changed the world," said the original food bank's current director, Terry Shannon. "He created this wonderful, simple, brilliant concept of food banking and he has touched millions. What a legacy!" He died October 5 in a Phoenix hospice. He was 83.
From This is True for 2 October 2005
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