Food for Kids: Standing With the World, Against Hunger
[vc_row][vc_column][title type="subtitle-h6"]Mia Shehadi [/title][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="11/12"][vc_column_text]In the quiet village of Waunakee, Wisconsin, a local charity organization is making a loud statement. Jamie and Mick Holm have been running a local branch of Food for Kids for 10 years. Their goal: rid the world of starving children, adults, and families. On October 25th, the Waunakee Village Center hosted the 10th annual packaging event. With a goal of 250,000 meals, more than 1,200 volunteers of all ages joined together to produce 300,000 meals.Mick Holm grew up watching his father volunteer for this Minnesota-based organization. As his father devoted more and more time to Food for Kids, Mick decided he wanted to do the same. After convincing his wife, Jamie, and doing extensive research, the couple began their journey in becoming a big part of the world community. During their first event, they were able to package 85,000 meals, feeding around 1 million children. Although the Holm’s now claim it was a chaotic opening, it made a lasting impact in the lives of the volunteers that have been returning every year since. All the funds to buy the meals come from fundraisers that are hosted throughout the year, then all the food is given to relief organizations and food pantries for free. Each meal costs the local Waunakee branch $0.15, which they receive from the main branch in Minnesota. Mick and Jamie then host the local packaging event, and ship the meals all around the world.
The meals are designed by food scientists to provide maximum nutrition for malnourished individuals. With assorted dried vegetables, fortified dried soy, rice, and essential vitamins and minerals, one little bag can hold up to six one-cup meals. Rows and rows of tables are set up in the Waunakee Center. Each table is a team and is given a few big box of each raw element (i.e. rice, vegetables, vitamins, soy). Organized as an assembly line, a small plastic bag is passed down each side of the table, is filled with a scoop of each ingredient, is then sealed, and lastly put into boxes. Each of the boxes hold 216 meals and costs about $33 to make. Most of these soy-rice meals will be going to Malawi and are being distributed by Children of the Nations organization. These meals specifically will be donated to the orphaned and destitute children. The other soy-based meals are being distributed to Honduras by Vision Honduras.Jamie and Mick Holm also donated some of these meals to local food pantries in Dane County. They discovered that, because of the design of the meals to feed the malnourished, it didn’t taste very good. So, besides adding some recipes for the recipient to try out with the soy-based meals, Jamie and Mick decided to design a cinnamon oatmeal to distribute specifically to the local pantries. A friend of the couple is a career food scientist and helped design a more tasteful and nutritious cinnamon oatmeal product to give to the local pantries. The night of October 24th, 100 high school students volunteered to help package the oatmeal, producing 52,000 packages of food, which were sent to pantries all over southern Wisconsin. In the past, Food for Kids, Waunakee has provided food for the relief efforts in Sierra Leone and Liberia during the Ebola crisis. They have also donated to Haiti during the 2010 Earthquake and to the areas effected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The reach of this local organization is not limited by any means, providing comfort through food where it is needed.With powerful advertisement, it is no wonder that people decide to volunteer. Fliers adorned with facts on malnutrition are pinned up against the wall, reminding volunteers of the injustice they are helping to end:[/vc_column_text][title type="fancy-h2" align="center"]Global Hunger Statistics[/title][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width="1/2"][counter from="7100000000" to="870000000" subtitle="Chronically Undernourished Worldwide" icon="hb-moon-people"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width="1/2"][counter to="3100000" subtitle="Global Childhood Deaths from Malnourishment" icon="hb-moon-accessibility"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][counter to="15300000" subtitle="U.S. Children living in food-insecure households in 2014" icon="icon-food"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]-[tooltip position="top" text="World Food Programme Hunger Statistics"]1 out of every 8 people suffer[/tooltip] from chronic undernourishment (870 million out of 7.1 billion).-Poor nutrition plays a role in [tooltip position="top" text="World Food Programme Hunger Statistics"]3.1 million child deaths[/tooltip] each year-Even in the United States, [tooltip position="top" text="Feeding America Child Hunger Facts"]1 out of 5 kids struggle with hunger[/tooltip] (15.3 million)-The world produces enough food to feed everyone!
Besides the absolute majesty of seeing a community come together to help, it was a joy to see that most of the volunteers were under 10 years old. Jamie emphasized the importance of this fact: this leads to families coming back each year, then the children carry on doing volunteer work throughout their lives.“You would be surprised how few people volunteer,” Mick said“And that’s just because they don’t know where to go [to become involved],” Jamie added.Many people from every walk of life joined together to help make this event as successful as it was. Everyone from church goers, to students, to returning university students were in attendance. Mick boasted about a University of Wisconsin-Whitewater student who had volunteered for Food for Kids in high school, and came back specifically to volunteer again this year, this time bringing a bunch of his friends to help out. At the school, the younger students will take tubes of M&Ms and go around their neighborhood asking for quarters. Each tube holds about $14 in quarters and will feed 96 children.With teary and prideful eyes, Jamie and Mick leave the interview to let the volunteers know that they have reached their quarter million goal, with still an hour left of the event. This local group provides inspiration and change without asking for recognition, even though it’s deserved. Food for Kids brings people together, not just in the local community, but also in the world. They are taking a stand and making a difference by providing comfort to those who need it around the world. Be part of the movement by donating your time or money to this organization. Go to their website, listed below, and see how you can help. Don’t forget that anyone can make a difference, no matter how small.Food for Kids, Waunakee: http://www.waunakeefeedtheneed.org/ [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]