Beat Summer Hunger with Harvesters
Happy Hump Day everyone! I hope you’re all having a great week so far. As you may or may not already know, I have partnered up with the amazing people over at Harvesters in Kansas City this year to help increase awareness about hunger in our community, and educate the public on ways you can get involved to help support this organization and their mission. Keep reading to learn a little bit more about the work that Harvesters does for those in need in our area:
- Harvesters distributes more than 52 million pounds of food annually
- Harvesters provides food and related household products to more than 620 nonprofit agencies including emergency food pantries, community kitchens, homeless shelters, children’s homes and others
- Harvesters’ network of nonprofit agencies feeds 141,500 different people each month, as you can see in the photo below!
- Harvesters serves some of the most vulnerable communities; one in four of those served by Harvesters are children and one in five are seniors
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In April, I got to attend the annual Harvesters Forks & Corks event (which was at Arrowhead Stadium this year) and it was SO much fun! Over 60 of Kansas City’s best restaurants donated samples of delicious food, desserts, beer/wine and cocktails. The best part is that 100% of the proceeds from ticket sales benefit the hungry in our community. It is an awesome event, and I am definitely planning to go again next year. I highly recommend checking it out in 2019! It would be a super fun date night — my friend Rachel made a great stand-in date since Ethan was out of town. ; )
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Some of the vendors this year were: Brio Tuscan Grille, Betty Rae’s Ice Cream, Tiki Cat, Mission Taco Joint, Pinstripes, Shatto Milk Company, Stroud’s, The Melting Pot, Lidia’s, Nothing Bundt Cakes and so many more! They even had a super fun photo booth!
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As a dietitian, food lover, and wellness blogger, you might’ve guessed that I love to eat! It breaks my heart to think that so many people go without food on a daily basis, and I am determined to improve these statistics. Every day, one in seven people in Harvesters’ 26-county service area in Kansas and Missouri wakes up unsure if they will have enough to eat, and sadly, children are often the most vulnerable to hunger. Over 100,000 children under 18 in our region, or one in six, is food insecure. As we all know, having access to nutritious food is essential to a growing body and mind for all of us, but especially kids.
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A lot of people love to donate their time and resources to those in need during the holiday season — which is amazing! — but what many people don’t realize is that the time donations are needed most is actually right now, during the summer months. This is because children lose access to reliable meals at their schools, which results in 1 in 5 kids in the Kansas City area battling hunger throughout the summer.
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Watch the one-minute video below to learn more:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHYuY3ofGzE&w=560&h=315]
Luckily, there are tons of ways that you can make a difference!
- To help feed kids in need this summer, Harvesters and Price Chopper partnered up to create a Virtual Food Drive! You can CLICK HERE to donate! It’s so quick and easy to do, and it can make a huge impact in the lives of others.
- A little bit goes a long way. For every $1 donated, Harvesters can provide 3 meals to kids in need this summer! Let me say that again — just ONE dollar provides THREE meals. Many of us have $1, or a few more, to spare, especially for a cause as important as this. Just imagine how grateful you would be if the roles were reversed.
- You can also donate locally here in KC at any Price Chopper by adding money to your bill at checkout, or bringing in non-perishable items to place in the blue Harvesters food bins in the store.
If you have any questions about other ways you can get involved, head to the Harvesters website, or follow them on Instagram at @harvesters. You can also reach out to me at [email protected], or DM me on Instagram @wellnessforthewin!
Thank you in advance for helping us beat Summer Hunger in our community!
Until next time,
Shanna Hutcheson, RD LD
Wellness For The Win
#BeatSummerHunger #Harvesters #Sponsored #KansasCity
