FeedsNorthville students help eradicate hunger
Staff Writer
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Fifth grade students from Moraine Elementary School helped take a bite out of world hunger on Tuesday.Fifth graders from Moraine Elementary School got a dose of community spirit Tuesday, when they teamed up with students from Roberto Clemente Elementary School in Detroit for a Kids against Hunger packaging drive.
A bi-monthly event for the Northville school district, students spent the morning measuring out ingredients at the local First Presbyterian Church, and packaging them for distribution to third world countries across the globe.
Don Burwell, president of the Kids Against Hunger Great Lakes Coalition, said that over the last three years, the organization has packaged more than a million meals.
“I told a friend of mine that I work with these kids every day and they like to goof off, probably because they’re kids, and that’s what kids do,” Burwell said. “But there’s a seriousness in their demeanor when they do this that is very adult, almost as if they understand the importance of what they’re doing.”
Kids against Hunger, a division of Feeding Children International (FCI), began in 1999, when founder Richard Proudfit decided to do something about the starvation he witnessed while on a working vacation in Honduras. In conjunction with executives from Pillsbury, Cargill, General Mills and ADM, Proudfit worked to develop a nutritionally complete meal, cost effective enough to feed hungry families throughout the world.
The nutritionally complete meal, which costs just 23 cents a serving and contains enough food to feed six people, is now being distributed by the FCI, through their satellite sites in 16 states.
Annually, the coalition packages and distributes more than 16 million meals.
In the church, children in hair nets stand elbow to elbow at tables set up with tubs of rice, soy, chicken flavoring and vegetables. Students level out scoops of each ingredient and then pass it to students father down the line to package and label in premade plastic bags.
After their “shift”, students relax with a lunch of Jet’s pizza, Capri Sun juice pouches and cookies, all donated by Northville High School honor students.
“We kind of have an assembly line going,” Principal Denise Bryan from Moraine Elementary said.
“It’s a good exercise in working together. It’s important for kids to see that they can come from different backgrounds and work together for a greater good.”
Burwell said that about 25 percent of food packaged goes to local food shelters, while another 25 percent is reserved for natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina. The remaining 50 percent is distributed to third world countries like Nigeria or the Dominican Republic.
Although students admit that the drive is a nice change from regular schoolwork, most also take the responsibility seriously, aware that their effort can help save lives.
“It’s important to help kids because a lot of them are hungry and dying,” Andrea Lugo, a fifth grader from Clemente Elementary said. “I want to help because I don’t want to see them die.”
Katrina Bauermeister, from Moraine Elementary, also felt that rescuing children from the threat of starvation was priority one.
“It’s important because we’re feeding kids that don’t have a lot of resources,” Bauermeister said. “It gives them a chance to live longer.”
Northville High School Honor Roll Students also donated their support to the event, by selling Valentine-grams at the local Hiller’s market in order to raise lunch money for the fledgling charity workers. Their efforts amounted to more than $300.
“I thought it would be good to work with a younger generation,” Northville High senior and Honor Roll student Michael Collins said.
“Hopefully we can help them gain some understanding of the needs of our society.”
Honor Roll president Lindsay Hagan said that the Kids Against Hunger program was also good for more localized understanding, and a way for students to begin looking past their differences early on.
“I think it’s really good to bring together kids from different backgrounds and having them work together to benefit society,” Hagan said.
Joan Wadsworth, the Northville School Board of Education president who helped organize the district involvement in the program, said that the charity event is great for breaking down community barriers and getting students to interact with kids outside their limited social spheres.
“It’s sometimes hard for 10-year-olds to make new friends, and that’s definitely a part of it,” Wadworth said. “Every time we do this event it’s wonderful, and the kids have such positive attitudes.”
To Yanivet Flores, a fifth grader from Clemente Elementary, her effort in the program means improving life for others like herself.
“It’s important because almost everyone needs food and we want to help them,” Flores said. “We want to make their lives easier.”
