Local kids fight hunger

January 11, 2016

Helping others is nothing new for 12-year-old Jack Kohn. He’s been helping the community since he was four-and-a-half years old. In 2008, his mom, Carolyn, read him a news story about families in Delaware struggling to put meals on the table. Jack didn’t understand why families could not just open their cabinets or refrigerator to get food like his family did. His mom explained that some families just don’t have enough resources to buy the needed food.

Jack wanted to help.

And help he did. Since 2008, Jack, with assistance from his little sister, Charlotte, has collected 10,277 pounds of food! His annual food drive takes place in November. In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, Jack promotes the food drive to his neighbors, friends and families. He provides a list of foods most needed by the Food Bank and provides a date that he and Charlotte will be back to pick up the foods!

Once collected, Jack and friends sort through the food before delivering to the Food Bank.

This year he collected so much that a Food Bank of Delaware van was need to pick up the haul! Jack, Charlotte and their mom followed the van back to the Food Bank so they could see the food being unloaded and weighed!

The annual food drive is important for both Jack and Charlotte. “It feels good to help people who are in need,” said Jack. “We feel no one should go hungry.”

Charlotte added, “It feels good, because I don’t like how I feel when I’m hungry so I like helping others to get food.”

Wanting to do more for the community, Jack and Charlotte extended the food drive partnership to employees at the Brandywine Kohl’s.

“This summer we were at Kohl’s shopping and met the store manager,” Jack explained. “We shared with her information on the food drive and she decided that it would be a great program for the employees to do, too.”

In addition to sharing the information about the food drive, Jack also presented to employees about the Food Bank and the Backpack Program, a program that feeds children who are at risk of weekend hunger.

The employees contributed to the holiday food drive and hosted three additional drives – a “milk and cookies” drive in December collecting shelf-stable milk and healthy snacks for the Backpack Program, a “heat or eat” drive during the month of January focusing on warm foods like soups and stews, and a “spread the love” drive in February collecting peanut butter!

In addition to the food collected, Kohl’s donates $500 for each employee activity! In total, Jack will help the Food Bank receive an extra $2,500 in monetary donations from the department store!

“As I grow older each year, I learn and develop new skills like planning ahead, organizational skills, how to take charge and get things done,” he said. “Most importantly, I am learning how to become a better public speaker- a skill that is a bit of a challenge for me.”

The Food Bank of Delaware is thankful for kids like Jack and Charlotte who are making a difference in the community!

They encourage other kids to take action, too, “We want kids to think how they feel when they are really, really hungry and imagine living like that all the time.”

Want to make a difference? Visit www.fbd.org to learn more about how you can help!