Recently, staff members, friends and family took a trip to the Freestore Foodbank to help assemble Power Packs for local children in need. Nancy Grant, move-in coordinator for the The Kenwood, shares her experience.
Did you know that Cincinnati ranks second, only to Detroit, in child poverty? More than half of the children in our city live below the poverty line. With so many positive things happening in Cincinnati right now, it’s unacceptable that our children are facing daily struggles just to survive. So to help make a difference, 16 Kenwood staff members, family and friends spent a Saturday afternoon at the Freestore Foodbank assembling Power Packs.
Each Friday during the school year, the Freestore Foodbank sends bags of food, known as Power Packs, home with students to ensure they have something to eat on weekends. Each Power Pack contains nearly a dozen food items, which are shelf-stable and easy to prepare. Nearly 4,000 children in more than 90 participating schools receive Power Packs from the Freestore Foodbank each week.
They set us up assembly-line style, with each of us putting two to three items in the paper bags, and then passing them down the line. We had strict instructions on how to pack each item so everything would fit in the bag. Off we went! Soon our competitive spirit kicked in and the bags came at us faster and faster. No one wanted to be the bottleneck, so we had to stay on our toes. Music played in the background and I noticed our pace was often set by the tempo of the music. As we rocked, we were on a roll!
In just less than two hours, we were able to put together 747 Power Packs, almost 20 percent of the weekly amount distributed to Cincinnati school children. What a great feeling! We were able to have some fun and laughs while helping give children something that we enjoy every day – good food!
A good deed done while having fun!