A Wellness studio
FOOD CONNECTIONS • If you need food assistance, visit agencies.mannafoodbank.org for a list of more than 327 agencies that provide food assistance throughout Western North Carolina. • Visit MANNAfoodbank.org/volunteer for information about volunteering. Members of the food industry who would like to make a donation can call MANNA at (877) 299-3663 to schedule a pickup. • If your group wants to help pack food for Kids Against Hunger, contact Rachel Leaptrot at 213-1019 or e-mail her at Rachel.leaptrot@msj.org.
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send things like cookies or candy. I don’t even do juice boxes because of the unnecessary calories.” Other groups in Western North Carolina also try to help feed children living in food-insecure households. Volunteers, including children, can make packages of dried foods for hungry children, both regionally and internationally through the local chapter of the international food-aid organization Kids Against Hunger. The Mission Children’s Hospital chapter is run by a volunteer committee that’s part of Mission Healthcare Foundation, according to the foundation’s website. “We get groups 10 years old and above,” says Rachel Leaptrot, program coordinator for the local chapter. “We get Boy Scout troops, Girl Scout troops, school groups, church youth groups, senior church groups, and employee groups, like nurses from Mission Hospital. We have a wide variety of people who want to get involved and help out.” The volunteers use an assembly line to create the bags, which contain rice, dehydrated vegetables, soy protein, and a yellow powder with a vegetarian chicken flavoring and 21 vitamins and minerals. The package cooks in boiling water for 20 minutes, and Leaptrot says it tastes better than it sounds. “At our packaging sessions, we always let people sample, and they’re surprised at how good it is,” Leaptrot says. “It tastes good, and it’s healthy.” Each bag costs 25 cents and serves six people. During a two-hour session, volunteers typically put together enough packages for 5,000 to 8,000 meals, Leaptrot says. Half of the bags go to MANNA for local distribution, and the rest goes to other counties. Besides the direct-food assistance, Leaptrot says the program has other benefits. “Primarily, we’re providing meals and trying to address hunger, but we’re also giving kids an opportunity to learn about volunteering,” Leaptrot says. X Megan Dombroski is a freelance writer and recent UNCA graduate with a degree in mass communication.
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