Kiwanis Club of Allen, Texas

KIWANIS CLUB FEEDS STARVING CHILDREN

In 2009, the Kiwanis Club of Allen initiated one of the most aggressive service projects ever undertaken in its 21 year history. The project is being conducted in conjunction with Kids Against Hunger, a nonprofit organization headquartered in New Hope, Minnesota whose mission is to feed starving children throughout the world.

So far the club has been involved in the packaging of over 300,000 nutritious meals, shipping them to a remote area of Honduras and to Haiti, where families and children go hungry every day. The meals consist of a specially formulated mixture of dehydrated protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and chicken flavoring. All that is needed to provide a flavorful, nutritious meal is the addition of boiling water.

Kids Against Hunger worked with scientists from major companies in the food industry to formulate the meal ingredients, resulting in a process for producing packets for less than 23 cents per serving. Allen Kiwanis significantly reduced this cost even further by working with local suppliers and by utilizing shipping arrangements provided by others.

Most meals are being distributed in the Moskito Coast region of Honduras by Send Hope, a nonprofit organization formed by Dr. Tom Brian, a dentist in Allen. Send Hope focuses on providing medical and dental care, as well as food, school supplies and clothing to the impoverished people in this primitive area, reachable only by boat or plane.

“The first food went to a family on 10 – a mother and nine children – and dramatic results could be seen after one month when the family returned for more rice casserole,” said Dr. Brian. Katrina Engle, who runs the feeding program, said she could not believe how quickly the rice casserole added weight to the malnourished children.

Food packaging events occur several times a month with volunteers spending about two hours measuring ingredients, filling packets and preparing the product for shipment. Getting participants for this work has not been a problem because they know what they are doing will make a major difference in the lives of many.

This project is filling a significant need for the malnourished families in Honduras and other places. Allen Kiwanis plans to make this a continuing project and has expanded it by inviting other organizations to provide financial and volunteer support.

If you or your organization is interested in providing volunteers or financial support for this project, please contact Lisa at lisacochell@sbcglobal.net or 972-727-0813.