Feed Our Rural Kids is thanking the Vilas County community for helping it surpass its fundraising goals last month.
FORK held its annual CashFORKids fundraiser. This year’s goal was $25,000.
FORK’s President Perry Pokrandt called it an ambitious goal, which made it that much grander when he learned they ended up raising more than $2,000 beyond it.
“We’re eternally grateful to that, for those donors, but what’s really unique is that all of the financial institutions in Eagle River came together to help,” said Pokrandt. “Each one of them setting aside their individual competitive nature to garner over the other bank or credit union across town to put the kids first. That’s really an amazing thing.”
Pokrandt says the $27,000 dollars raised will cover about a quarter of its operational costs next year.
FORK offers five different nutritional programs to families in the Northland Pines, Phelps, and Three Lakes School Districts.
Right now, it’s in the process of adding FORK pantries to Three Lakes and Sugar Camp schools.
These are pantries teachers can pull food out of for children or that parents or guardians can take as needed.
Pokrandt hopes the more people see these pantries, the more they get comfortable with taking what they need.
“Food insecurity isn’t something you should feel bad about, it’s just something that happens. It’s part of life. Things happen to families; divorce, illness, death, loss of a job, change in how your job is set up, your car’s transmission goes out. All things that can take a family that’s going right along and doing okay in their own minds to where they don’t know where they’re going to get the money to pay for the food for the kids,” said Pokrandt.
You can learn more about the programs FORK offers on its website.
