MORAN ? The Marmaton Valley High School gymnasium was transformed into a bustling factory floor Friday afternoon when dozens of area FFA members ? led by a group from Moran ? assembled in lines to package, seal, and box 13,000 meals destined to fill the hungry bellies of area families in need.
The food and supplies were provided by Something to Eat, a Kansas City-based organization, whose public mission is to facilitate large, nationwide ?packing events,? in which young people can learn about the perils of food insecurity in their community while at the same participating in a hands-on fix.
The manpower was provided by FFA members from Moran, Humboldt, Iola and Chanute.
But the starter ingredients on the day, namely passion and determination, were supplied by Mykayla Ard.
The Marmaton Valley sophomore was introduced to the Something to Eat program at the state FFA convention last summer, and the notion took. The idea, first, was to give the ready-to-cook ingredient packs ? rice, cheese, vegetables, soy ? to the local elementary-age students. ?We knew some of our elementary kids weren?t going to get to eat a lot over spring break,? explained Ard, ?because they just don?t have food at home like they do at [school]. And we wanted to do it discreetly; we didn?t want to hand food out to every kid that needed it. So every [teacher] is getting 25 to 50 meals to give out to their class as needed.?
Mykayla Ard, left, spearheaded Friday?s Something to Eat project at Marmaton Valley High School. The program seeks to feed families in need. Bailey Griffith is also pictured.
But in no time the charitable ambitions of the project grew, and, currently, thousands of Friday?s meal kits are making their way to various charities in the region: the food pantry in Iola, Hope Unlimited, the Savonburg library, special education classrooms, and many more.
?Agribusiness only makes up two percent of the world,? said Ard, ?and so that two percent has to feed not only their two percent but the rest of the world, the other 98 percent, which is crazy.? This imbalance, continued Ard, also means that the needs of the most impoverished fraction of that 98 percent often gets lost in the mix.
?Food insecurity is not having enough to eat,? said Ard. ?It?s not getting your required three meals every day. Maybe, like some people around here, you?re only getting one of three. ? Today is really exciting. I think we can help a lot of people, and my real hope, if this goes well, is that we can make this an annual thing.?
