Monte Sereno's Ray Beshoff Donates $17K to Second Harvest Food Bank

Monte Sereno resident Ray Beshoff, owner of Beshoff MotorCars Mercedes-Benz and Beshoff Infiniti in East San Jose, has presented a $17,800 check to Second Harvest Food Bank.

Beshoff committed to giving Second Harvest $100 for every new Mercedes-Benz, Sprinter Van and smart car sold at his dealership between Thanksgiving and the end of December 2011.

Second Harvest Food Bank's Tami Cardenas and Michelle Berg received the donation Wednesday, Jan. 18 at the Mercedes-Benz dealership in San Jose. Cardenas is director of development and marketing and Berg is media and event manager.

Established in 2002, Beshoff MotorCars has endeavored to build its business through community involvement, said Phil Garratt, a spokesman for Beshoff MotorCars.

The decision to work with Second Harvest was based on the fact that despite signs of a recovering economy, one in four families in the San Mateo/Santa Clara region still need help putting food on the table, Garratt said.

“I was very impressed by the fact that 95 cents out of every dollar contributed to the Second Harvest Food Bank goes directly to feed the hungry in our community,” said Beshoff.

Second Harvest feeds nearly a quarter million people every month in San Mateo/Santa Clara counties, approximately the populations of San Mateo and Sunnyvale combined.

Every year, the food bank depends on getting the majority of donations during its holiday food and fund drives, which end Jan. 20, Cardenas said.

"We truly appreciate the generosity of Beshoff MotorCars and the Beshoff family," Cardenas added.

The donation equals 35,600 meals to feed local needy families who might not otherwise have food to put on the table, Cardenas said.