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Why Kids Against Hunger?
Every hour of every day 12 children per minute die of starvation or malnutrition related diseases. Kids Against Hunger is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to end that tragedy. Kids Against Hunger packages and ships highly nutritious, life-saving meals to starving and malnourished children in developing countries and the United States. We do this by mobilizing the energy and caring of American children, teens, and adults on behalf of hungry children around the world. Kids Against Hunger seeks to end the literal hunger of poor children receiving the meals, but also satisfies a hunger among prosperous Americans, a hunger for meaning and contribution.
How was Kids Against Hunger started?
The organization was founded in March 1999 by Richard Proudfit, a successful entrepreneur. In 1974 Richard volunteered on a medical mission to Honduras after Hurricane Fifi had ravaged that country. Profoundly affected by the starvation he saw among the children there, he made a decision to commit his life and financial resources to solving the enormous problem of world hunger. His life’s work became clear to him: “feed these starving children.
Richard Proudfit enlisted leading executives at Cargill, Pillsbury, General Mills, and Archer Daniels Midland to formulate a food that would meet all the nutritional requirements of severely malnourished children for physical growth and mental development. The result was the creation of a balanced, high nutrition food that can reverse the starvation process, and restore a child’s health and mental alertness.
What is so special about the food you package?
The meal ingredients are formulated by food scientists to provide a rich source of easily digestible protein, carbohydrates, and vitamins needed by an undernourished child’s body and mind. The food is also acceptable to the broad diversity of ethnic tastes and religious differences around the world. The food offers all 9 of the essential amino acids required for complete nutrition, something that can’t be said about other typical food relief sources such as rice or beans alone. It is also very simple to prepare, requiring only 6 cups of boiling water to make a complete meal.
What types of people volunteer to package the food?
While our name implies that children are the source of our volunteers, in practice our volunteers come from all age groups and walks of life. Individuals and groups from churches, synagogues, schools, social clubs, businesses, senior centers, and civic groups are common sources of volunteers for packaging our food. Children from the fifth grade on seem to have the best experience in packaging events. Teens require minimal adult supervision and often plan their own packaging events. Some of the best volunteer experiences come when children, parents, and grandparents work together as a family. Schools and corporations often do packaging with us as a community service event.
Can you come to our school/church/organization to do a packaging event?
We can. We are mobile and ready to roll into your community to stage a packaging event! Simply give us a call or write an email requesting us to do so.
How does the food get to those who need it?
We work closely with our distribution partners - churches, nonprofit organizations, and U.S. government agencies operating in poor countries - to distribute the meals prepared by our volunteers. We seek out organizations that have proven track records of successfully getting the food to the children and keeping it out of the hands of corrupt government officials and criminals. We always require our feeding partners to document how they distributed the food and provide us with pictures of the children who receive it. When possible, we personally oversee delivery by sending our volunteers to the regions we want to help
Where have you sent your food?
We have shipped food to over 40 countries so far. A partial list of the countries that have received our food is as follows:
Afghanistan
Angola
Bolivia
Chile
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Guatemala
Haiti
Honduras
India
Indonesia |
Kenya
Liberia
Malawi
Mexico
Mozambique
Mongolia
Nicaragua
Nigeria
North Korea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Russia |
Sierra Leone
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Sumatra
Tanzania
Thailand
Uganda
Uruguay
USA
Venezuela
Zimbabwe |
WKids Against Hunger Cedar Rapids also provides meals to many food banks and shelters here in Linn County and throughout the U.S.
How do you raise money for your food?
It costs Kids Against Hunger Iowa about 25¢ to buy the ingredients for the packaging of each meal. The $0.25/meal does not include shipping. The cost of shipping is raised separately. When we ship a cargo container (about 285,000 meals) to a country, it includes $66,000 worth of food. As a nonprofit organization we raise all our funds from the generosity of individual donors, corporations, churches, synagogues, and foundations. Put simply, the more money we receive from donors, the more children we can feed.
How can I support Kids Against Hunger?
Plan an event, shop with us or simply donate by clicking donate now at bottom of page.
Is my donation to Kids Against Hunger Tax Deductible?
Yes. Kids Against Hunger is a 501(c)(3) organization and is approved by the IRS for tax deductible donations.
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