Every year for the past 16 years, hundreds of volunteers have gathered in the Lakeland Union Cafeteria to package hundreds of thousands of meals.
Some of those meals go around the U.S. and world to feed hungry children, but a growing number are staying here in the Northwoods to support local pantries and food programs.
Meghan Anderson is the Food for Kidz Northwoods Co-chair. She says 240 cases stayed local last year. This year local pantries are asking for more than 400.
“This time, we're looking at more than half staying here. The need has really gone up for what our local food pantries and backpack programs need. They have more families that have signed up even just recently. The demand has just really gone through the roof,” said Anderson.
Anderson is hoping to get 500 to 600 volunteers to fill two shifts.
People can sign up as individual or in groups to repackage bulk food into meal-size packets.
The goal is to package 300,000 meals this year.
“Ideally, if we could get to 313,000 we would actually then be packaging our 3,000,000th meal in the 16 years that this has been going on at LUHS,” said Anderson. “That would be pretty wonderful if we could hit that milestone.”
Food for Kidz is also in need of monetary donations.
Anderson says it costs about 18 cents per meal so even small donations go a long way.
“We need more, because we need to package more this year to meet that need. The other thing that we're looking for, too, is donations to buy the bulk food that we then bring in on the truck to do the packaging the day of our event,” said Anderson.
Donation checks to this event should be made out to “Food for Kidz” *and mailed to: Food for Kidz, Attn.: Laura Bertch, PO Box 61, Boulder Junction, WI 54512. (After an acknowledgement is sent to the donor, the checks are forwarded to Food for Kidz for deposit into the Food for Kidz account in Stewart, MN. We are so grateful for the donations we have received thus far! (For more information, please contact Laura Bertch, Lions District Hunger Chairperson at 715-892-1204.)
The Food for Kidz Event is Saturday, October 11th. The first shift is from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. The second shift is from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. They also need volunteers to help set up and clean up.
