Avondale School District rallies to pack 100,000 meals to fight world hunger

Students working as an assembly line packed nutritious meals for distribution

Hundreds of volunteers joined Avondale Kids Against Hunger (AKAH) in packing 100,000 meals to be sent to the Baldwin Soup Kitchen in Pontiac and to children living in orphanages in remote parts of Haiti. The event drew members from all walks of the Avondale School District community including students, staff members, alumni and parents. This is the third time since 2011 that AKAH has rallied the community to come together for this important cause. “Hunger is at a crisis point in the remote villages of Haiti,” said event organizer and Avondale teacher Todd Henderson, “they are experiencing the worst food crisis since 2001.”

The packing event supports local needs as well as the needs of children abroad by providing nutrient-dense meals that include soy, rice, dried vegetables and chicken flavoring. The cost of each meal is 28¢. In order to reach the group’s goal of 100,000 meals, AKAH needed to raise $28,000. “In the past we’ve had big donors to help off-set the cost of the food,” Henderson explained to the group of volunteers during a break in the packing, “but this year we didn’t have any huge contributors. All of the money raised - all of the $28,000 - came from smaller donations, people giving $5 or $10 or $20. It was all of those contributions and your hard work that made this happen,” he continued in his address. “We reached our goal of 100,000 and I’m grateful and appreciate the contributions of each of you.”

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