Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., once asked,
“Why should there be hunger and deprivation in any land, in any city, at any table when man has the resources and the scientific know-how to provide all mankind with the basic necessities of life. There is no deficit in human resources. The deficit is in human will.”
For MLK Day 2016, thousands of volunteers across America packaged meals for the hungry in their own community. As Max Finberg, Director of Americorps VISTA said, “This is not a day off, this is a day on.” Max, and others, packaged meals at the Stonewall Jackson High School in the rural Shenndoah Valley near Quicksburg, Virginia.
“The students at Ohio State University did a fantastic job of packaging meals for the hungry,” said Outreach founders, Floyd Hammer and Kathy Hamilton. “Watching so many young people package meals gives us hope that the next generation will one day solve global hunger.”
At Central College in Pella, Iowa, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack attended the event and spoke about hunger. “The work you are doing is sending forth a ripple of hope,” he stated, before donning a hairnet to package meals with the students.
Several colleges, like Central College, were recipients of the MLK Day Mini-Grant Program through the Iowa Campus Compact (ICC). ICC was administering a grant from Corporation for National Service (CNS), which also oversees the Americorps VISTA program. ICC reallocated that MLK Day grant to colleges who did the Outreach Program Super Mini-Pack.
University of Northern Iowa’s Service and Leadership Council also packaged meals! Students had the opportunity to participate in many activities but one in particular engaged them in hunger. They were given a small portion of Rice & Beans and were asked to only eat that for the day as a way to experience what many food insecure people live on each day.
Miss Iowa, Taylor Wiebers, made an appearance as a special guest to also speak briefly about domestic hunger and how we can help make a difference. Her presence at the event was so appreciated as people were interested to learn about how she too has packaged meals for food insecure families in the past.
In Ohio, Lorain County Community College students packaged meals during the Hunger Attack. The meals were put together for families in Lorain County who are suffering from hunger.
As Dr. King said,
“I have the audacity to believe that people everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for the minds and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits.”
We agree.
University of Northern Iowa: 25,000 meals
Bowling Green State University: 5,000 meals
Morningside College: 12,000 meals
Otterbein College: 4,750 meals
Lorain County Community College: 6,000 meals
Central College: 7,000 meals
Ending Hunger. Enriching Lives.
For more information:
EMAIL: office@outreachprogram.org
PHONE: 641-486-2550 or 800-513-0935
ADDRESS:
Outreach Program
301 Center St.
PO Box 361
Union, Iowa USA 50258
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Twitter: @outreachprgm
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