KAH Cincinnati Hits 750,000 Meal Milestone!

Saturday, December 12, 2008
Big groups in the AM and PM packing seesions...5 lines had to run each session. There are now 12 pallets at Berean Christian Stores and we just emptied the place at Thanksgiving! Total meals packed to date at KAH Cincinnati is now 764,856!!

On top of that, one person today is buying 10 boxes of “The Perfect Christmas Gift” for his friends and family members.

For a deeper understanding of why we do what we do here at Kids Against Hunger, please view & comment on the Sam & Esther video at the bottom of the A Child's Hope International's blog post.

Thank you to all who served, we hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Kids Against Hunger in the news!

Helping feed the hungry is new mission for couple

Local news Cincinnati.Com » Local news
Last Updated: 3:54 pm | Saturday, December 13, 2008

A Liberty Township couple is living out the old phrase "Think Globally, Act Locally."

And they have a growing number of community and church groups helping to carry out their mission.

In June, Larry Bergeron and his wife, Elizabeth, founded a charity called A Child's Hope International. The nonprofit focuses on four areas: adoptions, orphan care, foster care and humanitarian relief - including an industrial-scale food-packing operation that has involved hundreds of volunteers.

Members of the Kings High School boys basketball team will spend time at a warehouse in West Chester Township today earning community service credits by packing food mix for malnourished children. The work is part of an international campaign called Kids Against Hunger.

"This is our community service project this year," says Jake Grunkemeyer, as assistant coach for the Kings varsity basketball team. "They will get a lot out of it. They'll work on the production line and they'll see a movie about where the food goes. It makes you sick to see what these kids (in other countries) go through."

Almost every Saturday, community and church groups form four or five assembly lines at the Berean Christian Stores warehouse. Volunteers package a mixture of rice, soy and vegetables fortified with vitamins that provides six one-cup servings to an undernourished child.

The packets are shipped to food pantries in Greater Cincinnati and to impoverished areas in the U.S. and nations around the world. So far, more than 25 tons of food have been shipped.

Bergeron, 60, is a former lead pastor at Hope Church in Mason. Now, this is his full-time mission.

He says the program has grown so fast that it is starting to outgrow the space donated by Berean. Now, the food-packing operation is searching for a larger space - about 5,000 square feet of heated warehouse space - that can be used on weekdays to accommodate all the people who want to help.

"Volunteers put their heart into this," Bergeron said.

For example, about 1,100 volunteers showed up one weekend in September for a special pack-a-thon for Haiti relief.

Now, two 40-foot containers have been filled; soon to be shipped to Swaziland.

Rita Kuntz, a member of the Kids Against Hunger team, says the family-friendly nature of the packing sessions draws volunteers.

Children as young as 3 and adults in their 80s have participated.

People feel they are doing something tangible, according to Kuntz. "We even let them write messages on the boxes," she says.

To get involved
For more information about A Child's Hope International, go to www.achildshopeintl.org or call 513-515-2611.
Copyright ©2008 The Enquirer. All rights reserved.

Wired for Worship

Made from copper wire, these items were the center pieces at a Women's Ministries conference at a church in the Boston area. The theme of the conference was Women – Wired for Worship.

At the end, the women were able to buy these pieces. The proceeds of $115 went to A Child's Hope International for Kids Against Hunger.
460 meals will be produced because a few women were wired for worship.
Thank you ladies.

Hope for Christmas

Rather than grow weary trekking through malls, stores and spending hours perusing online catalogs, please consider giving a gift that will save the lives of many children this Christmas. And it is easy!

* Identify family, friends, neighbors and co-workers that you would like to donate a box of Kids Against Hunger food in their name

* Send them a Christmas card letting them know that you have sent a financial gift in their name to A Child's Hope International, Inc so that we may send life saving food to 216 children.

* Ask them to consider doing the same for you and others on their shopping list

* Send $54 for each box of donated food to the address shown below. You will receive a statement of your tax deductible gift from us.

* Here is the special part: send us their name and address and we will send them a replica of a KAH box with our thanks as well!

For more information and a special new video, please visit here.

Thank you and have a great Thanksgiving!

Thank You Meredith

This is so awesome.

Like any child, on Meredith's birthday she had a birthday party. Unlike the typical birthday party, Meredith, her mom, and her friends decided to make a difference in the life of a child.....actually in the lives of 1,000 kids!

Instead of asking for gifts, Meredith asked that her friends donate to Kids Against Hunger. What a selfless act on Meredith's part! We are all very proud of you Meredith! Meredith and her friends raised $250! At 25 cents per serving, that is 1,000 meals that will be provided because of Meredith's party!!!

Below is Meredith's letter to Larry Bergeron, Executive Director of A Child's Hope International here in Cincinnati.



You too can make a difference in the life of a child.

November 15, 2008

After a busy day that included a trial third shift, almost 4 pallets were packed on November 15! That's almost 28,512 servings of food!!! Thank you to all our awesome volunteers!

Were you a volunteer on Nov 15? Please let us know about your experience....how was the third shift?

November 8, 2008

Packing on Saturday, Nov 8 yielded about 3 pallets of food.
That's just about 21,384 servings for starving children!!

Thank you to everyone you volunteered their time or treasures, you are making a difference.

November 1, 2008

On November 1 2008, thanks to the time & finances of KAH's awesome volunteers, 5+ pallets were packed and wrapped!!! That's over 35,640 life saving meals!!! Way to go everyone!

Special thanks goes to the groups that helped: the Brownie Troops, the UD students, the UC students, the birthday party attendees, and the neighborhood group. Please leave comments below telling us about your experience!

Haiti Pack-A-Thon

On Friday, Sept 26 and Saturday, Sept 27 2008, over 1000 amazing volunteers came together to make a difference in lives of thousands of children in the country of Haiti. A 24 hour pack-a-thon was planned with the goal of packing 285,000 life saving meals.

Thank you to all who helped with this life saving, humanitarian relief project for the children of Haiti.

Here is what was accomplished:

* Over 1000 people of all ages came during the 24 hours of operation
* Volunteers came from Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana
* 14 tons of rice, 7 tons of soy, 1 ton of vitamins and over 50,000 cups of dried vegetables were used
* There was nothing left to pack as of 7:30 PM Saturday night – the supplies were exhausted
* Nearly 49 pallets of food were jammed into the shipping container – the goal was 40 pallets
* As a result, the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission will receive 348,000 meals (the goal was 285,000)
* In addition, Christian Broadcasting Network and Operation Blessing sent an additional 19 pallets for distribution via World Concern in Haiti

A special thanks to the Kroger Company for the use of their property and to CBN/Operation Blessing International for their support in transportation. Also to Christian Life Center, Crestview Presbyterian and First Christian Assembly for their generous financial support.

The following video was produced by the Orphan Ministry at Salem Church of God. It was recorded on site during the Haiti Pack-A-Thon. Thanks to all at Salem and especially to Heather & Phil Bench for their heart for the orphan and this video.

(Pause the music to the right before starting the video.)


For more information regarding the Haiti Pack-A-Thon, please also visit A Child's Hope International blog posting.


Were you one of the 1,000 amazing volunteers?
If so, please share about your experience during the Pack-A-Thon in the comment section below.

Thank you.

Thank You

I thought it would be appropriate that one of the first posts on this blog should be a Thank You to everyone that has served this ministry in one way or another. You are truly appreciated and you have made a difference in a life of a child. On behalf of children everywhere, we thank you for serving.

Maybe you volunteered your time of 2 hours at a packing session and packed enough food for 1 child to eat for 1 year.

Maybe you volunteered your treasure of $125 to provide 1 child food for 1 year.

Maybe you volunteered your time to help setup a packing session and trained other volunteers.

Maybe you served at the Haiti Pack-A-Thon and helped pack 348,000 meals.

Maybe you donated 25 cents to provide a meal to a starving child.

Maybe you told your family & friends about KAH.

Every gift of your time, treasure and talent is valuable and has made a difference.

If you are able, could you please write a comment below telling us about your experience? This is a great chance to share & encourage others about why you served and what you got out of the experience. Did anything hold you back from initially serving or donating? What were your thoughts after your first packing session? Did you feel that you made a difference? Would you encourage others to help as well? Would you want to serve again?

What is Kids Against Hunger of Cincinnati?

Kids Against Hunger of Cincinnati is one of the four channels of care at A Child's Hope International. We exist because the children are waiting.

The Kids Against Hunger national network currently includes over 30 food packaging satellites across the United States and one in Canada. We are proud to announce that A Child's Hope International has been approved as a licensee for Kids Against Hunger in the greater Cincinnati area.

Over 30,000 children die every day around the world from preventable causes. They die from hunger, dirty water and the lack of basic medical care. Over 10 million children each year - every year. We have decided that the suffering and deaths of these children is not acceptable and we have chosen to do something about it!

Kids Against Hunger food packets are a specially formulated rice-soy casserole that nourishes starving children and their families in nearly 40 countries. These simple ready to eat meals are a revolutionary food package that has been developed by some of the world's leading food scientists at Cargill, Pillsbury, General Mills and ADM. Just one package provides six nutritionally-complete servings to feed starving children around the world as well as the hungry here at home, and all for the low cost of 25 cents per serving!

You, your friends and your family can make a difference.

Some of you may only be able to donate time and we need you. Some of you may be able to donate treasures and we need you. Some of you can offer your talents at home or work and we need you. We need all of you because the children are waiting.

We met every Saturday for two separate packing sessions and all volunteers are welcomed. One person volunteering for 2 hours will pack enough food for 1 child for 1 year!  The offices of A Child's Hope Intl and the Kids Against Hunger "Factory" are located in a large shopping plaza at 848 Molly Lane, Milford, Ohio 45150 near the intersection of I-275 and SR 28. We are very proud to be part of the Miami Township community. We are easy to get to and to find ~ and just 10 minutes east of the I-275 exit on I-71. From I-275 take exit 57, then turn north on SR 28. Move quickly into the left lane and then turn left at the traffic light across from Lowes, and then turn left into the shopping center (behind Dunkin Donuts and Burger King). You will see us on the far right side of the shopping center.Your tax deductible donations will have a life saving impact on children here and around the world. Every 25 cents can help a hungry child. $125 will provide enough food for 1 child for 1 year!

For more information on Kids Against Hunger of Cincinnati, please visit: http://www.nomorehunger.us/

What is Kids Against Hunger?

Every hour of every day 12 children per minute die of starvation or malnutrition related diseases.

Kids Against Hunger is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to end that tragedy. Kids Against Hunger packages and ships highly nutritious, life-saving meals to starving and malnourished children in developing countries and the United States. We do this by mobilizing the energy and caring of American children, teens, and adults on behalf of hungry children around the world. Kids Against Hunger seeks to end the literal hunger of poor children receiving the meals, but also satisfies a hunger among prosperous Americans, a hunger for meaning and contribution.

We have a national packaging network made up of our headquarters facility in New Hope, Minnesota, a packaging division in Mankato, Minnesota, and satellites in 14 states and Canada staffed by volunteers who package the meals. In total, the packaging network has the capacity to produce over 20 million meals per year. We also work with other organizations seeking long term solutions to the systemic causes of hunger. Our aim is for our meals to provide a stable nutritional base from which the recipient peoples can move their families from starvation to self-sufficiency. Since its launch, Kids Against Hunger has fed about 50 million meals to children in more than 40 countries through the efforts of over 100,000 volunteers.

It is our mission to significantly reduce the number of hungry children in the USA and to feed God’s starving children throughout the world.

It is our vision to set up food packaging satellites in the USA and around the world, and to spearhead community and youth volunteer packaging of Kids Against Hunger’s highly nutritious meals. It is also our vision to deliver Kids Against Hunger’s food through partnerships with humanitarian organizations in the USA and worldwide.

The meal ingredients are formulated by food scientists to provide a rich source of easily digestible protein, carbohydrates, and vitamins needed by an undernourished child’s body and mind. The food is also acceptable to the broad diversity of ethnic tastes and religious differences around the world. The food offers all 9 of the essential amino acids required for complete nutrition, something that can’t be said about other typical food relief sources such as rice or beans alone. It is also very simple to prepare, requiring only 6 cups of boiling water to make a complete meal.

While our name implies that children are the source of our volunteers, in practice our volunteers come from all age groups and walks of life. Individuals and groups from churches, synagogues, schools, social clubs, businesses, senior centers, and civic groups are common sources of volunteers for packaging our food. Children from the fifth grade on seem to have the best experience in packaging events. Teens require minimal adult supervision and often plan their own packaging events. Some of the best volunteer experiences come when children, parents, and grandparents work together as a family. Schools and corporations often do packaging with us as a community service event.

For more information on Kids Against Hunger at the national level, please visit here.