Peru State packages more than 10,000 meals for Kids Against Hunger

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 15, 2019, 10:00 a.m. CDT

Contact Jason Hogue, Peru State College Marketing and Communications, 402-872-2429

Peru, Nebraska– Peru State student organizations, faculty, staff and community members gathered in the Al Wheeler Activity Center March 13 to package over 10,000 meals for Kids Against Hunger.

Actions in Motion (AIM) and Nebraska Lutheran Ministry’s Saved to Serve event partnered with Omaha Against Hunger, a volunteer-based, non-profit organization that distributes Kids Against Hunger food products.

Dr. Gina Bittner, faculty advisor for AIM, writes, “It is an honor to be a part of a campus and community that values service to those in need. Kids Against Hunger is an organization worthy of our commitment, which the Actions in Motion campus ministry organization of Peru State College recognized when developing this annual tradition three years ago.�

“This event could not happen without the community and campus ministry organization’s monetary donations or the time commitment required of those who made the event happen.�

Omaha Against Hunger’s Dan Jensen adds, “We love partnering with Peru State and Nemaha County. We love seeing the community and engaging with the College. Peru State always does a nice job and reaches the goals we set.”

Dr. Gina Bittner, faculty advisor for AIM and assistant professor of education, writes, “The ladies, led by Mary Mayfield, will be touring campus at 12:15 and will remain on campus through 7:00 p.m. Not only will they be working with students, they will be helping with Kids Against Hunger, bringing food donations for Bobcat Bites, donations for the professional clothing closet, and will bring food and necessities packages for all students participating in the Kids Against Hunger event.

Mary Mayfield adds that she and the women in her group loved working with Peru State’s students, “You have to experience Peru State to understand all that it has to offer for students and community.”

Kids Against Hunger is a non-profit Omaha-based national organization whose goal is to significantly reduce the number of hungry children in the U.S. and to feed starving children throughout the world.

After a five-minute training video and an hour of packing meal bags, the volunteers had put together 10,854 Latin Rice meals, composed of dark soy, beans, Latin spice and rice. Jensen reported that those meals equaled 418 pounds of soy, 67 pounds of beans, 105 pounds of Latin seasoning and 968 pounds of rice.

Serena Nelson (Town), co-president of AIM, said, “This is a really good program to bring to campus and I loved seeing all these groups come together for a good cause.�

Makalya Thompson (town), co-president of AIM, adds that she likes the food made will stay in the communities nearby.

All the packaged meals will be donated to Food Bank for the Heartland and then distributed to children in Nebraska and western Iowa.

For more information, visit www.peru.edu.

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