Hats off once again to “Kids Fighting Hunger,” which with its care and compassion helps so many people in Minnesota (and elsewhere) who are having a rough time.
Its staff and volunteers work tirelessly to help individuals and families get enough to eat.
On Sunday, Nov. 19 at River’s Edge Convention Center in St. Cloud, Kids Fighting Hunger will hold its 11th annual “We Are Thankful” food packaging event that will benefit many area food shelf centers, including the St. Joseph Community Food Shelf.
At the event, the hope is to attract at least 450 volunteers to package more than 90,000 oatmeal-and-rice meals for 11 area food shelf sites, including the Catholic Charities Emergency Services Food Shelf in St. Cloud, as well as food shelves in Albany, Big Lake, Buffalo, Cold Spring, Monticello, Zimmerman and – not to forget – St. Joseph.
At the Nov. 19 event at River’s Edge Convention Center, food-packaging shifts are about 75 minutes and begin at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. To volunteer for the event and to register, visit getconnected.unitedwayhelps.org/event. For more information, visit facebook.com/kidsfightinghunger.
Last year, Kids Fighting Hunger volunteers packaged 140,000 meals, more than the pre-order requests of 110,000 meals from participating food-shelf sites. Excess packaged meals are distributed to global communities in need.
Donations are needed for help in paying for meal-package ingredients. Kids Fighting Hunger requests donations of $15 from children under 18 years of age, and $30 from adults 18 and older.
“There’s a genuine struggle for individuals in our community experiencing food insecurity, and together, we’ve been able to support area food shelves helping serve our neighbors in need,” said Cathy Wogen, executive director of Kids Fighting Hunger.
Wogen continued: “Considering the cost of food ingredients and supplies have increased by 50 percent,” she said, “Kids Fighting Hunger needs help in raising $30,000 for the event. Only with the support of our generous community can we together meet the needs of area food shelves.”
To donate to the event, send payment by check to Kids Fighting Hunger, P.O. Box 7550, St. Cloud, MN 56302, and designate “We Are Thankful” on the check’s memo line. Donations are also accepted online at kidsfightinghunger.org. For more information, email Cathy at cathy.wogen@gmail.com or call 320-291-6007.
Kids Fighting Hunger is a volunteer-driven effort to package and distribute humanitarian relief in communities worldwide where there is immediate need. The organization’s members believe every person can make a difference in the fight against local, national and global food insecurity.
A separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Kids Fighting Hunger provides people in central Minnesota the opportunity to work hands-on in the food-packaging process. It hosts, works with and empowers volunteer groups, including schools, athletic teams, faith communities, businesses and Scout troops, to package food and prepare it for distribution to areas of the world, including right here at home, when crises strike and food is in short supply.
Thank you, thank you to Kids Fighting Hunger. Your caring, your kindness, your compassion and your hard work are making a wonderful difference in this sometimes so-sad world.