NEI food packaging event

CRESCO - The Northeast Iowa Food Packaging Event will be held during the Norman Borlaug Harvest Fest on Sunday, Sept. 22, in the Crestwood High School Gym from 8 a.m.-noon. The purpose is to bring people of Northeast Iowa together to continue Dr. Norman Borlaug’s legacy of feeding the hungry. The Event Committee seeks public participation to raise $37,500 and to package 150,000 meals with The Outreach Program during the Norman Borlaug Harvest Fest and Inspire Day to address food insecurities locally, regionally, and globally.

Over 40 million people in the United States are food insecure. This means lacking reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food resulting in 60 percent of the country’s population as food-insecure.

In Iowa, one in nine Iowans are food insecure. One in six Iowa children do not have enough to eat, and 360,540 Iowans live at or below the poverty level and struggle with hunger. In Howard County, 980 live at or below the poverty level and struggle with hunger.

Local groups provide assistance such as the Food Bank of Cresco and Riceville, the Mobile Food Pantry, the Backpack Program and the Summer Free Breakfast & Lunch Program through Howard-Winn Schools. However, it’s still not enough!

Supporters will package two different meals; rice and bean as well as cinnamon apple oatmeal. Fifty thousand meals will be distributed in Northeast Iowa; 50,000 meals will be distributed to domestic natural disaster areas in the United States; and 50,000 meals will be distributed to extreme poverty regions of Tanzania. “We are very excited to hold this large event in conjunction with the food packaging event held annually with approximately 300 northeast Iowa fifth graders at the Norman Borlaug Heritage Foundation’s annual fall Inspire Day, Friday Sept. 20,” said Dr. Norman Borlaug Heritage Foundation member.

This event was held last year in the newly-restored Borlaug farm at the birth place. This September will be the fifth year for packing meals during Fall Inspire Day. The packaging began in 2014, when the very first event was held the year Norm would have been 100 years old on March 25. It was also the year of the unveiling of Dr. Borlaug’s statue in Statutory Hall at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C. 

This year the group is commemorating what would have been Dr. Borlaug’s 105th birthday!

Contact Howard County Business & Tourism with questions regarding the event or Norman Borlaug Harvest Fest at 563.547.3434.

To financially support:

25 cents = 1 meal

$100 = 400 meals

$500 = 2,000 meals

$1,000 = 4,000 meals

$2,500 = 10,000 meals

$5,000 = 20,000 meals

To register: 

Go to https://give.classy.org/NEIowaregistration, get in touch with Kari Waterbeck at jeromekari@msn.com or call   (515) 290-8307

Check or Cash Giving:

Checks or cash can be donated to:

The Outreach Program Mailing

Cresco Chamber of Commerce

101 2nd Ave. SW

Cresco, IA, 52136

Credit/Debit Card Giving:

Give online at: https://www.classy.org/campaign/Northeast-Iowa-Food-PackagingEvent/c242224

 

About The Outreach Program

The Outreach Program was started by Floyd Hammer and Kathy Hamilton of Union, Iowa. A non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, Outreach has helped to package more than 550 million meals that have been distributed across the United States and around the world. Outreach Meal Packaging Events are set up across the United States to engage businesses, religious and civic organizations, schools, and volunteers of all ages to package nutritious meals for the hungry. 

Co-Founders Floyd Hammer and Kathy Hamilton were invited to the White House by President Barack Obama and former President H.W. Bush to be honored. As a recipient of the top “Four Star” rating from Charity Navigator and GuideStar’s Exchange Seal for transparency, Outreach is committed to improving the lives of disadvantaged individuals. For more information, visit: www.outreachprogram.org

Submitted by Vickie Grube