Since last year’s E4K, we at Random Acts have been tackling the widespread issue of childhood hunger. Our Regional Representatives and staff have been scouring the globe looking for places where we can make the most impact. This usually involves locations where a significant percentage of the population experiences ongoing food insecurity. In this case, the #RANoHungryChild world tour takes us to Harlan, Kentucky.
About Harlan
The poverty rate in Harlan is a staggering 31%, more than double the national average and among the highest in the country. With a child population of roughly 29%, that’s a lot of kids and families in need of help. Our Head of Partnerships Maria Christian reached out to Christ’s Hands, a local non-denominational food pantry. Part of Christ’s Hands’ role in the community is supporting other local food pantries while distributing 250 food boxes in Harlan each month. Those food boxes alone feed roughly 1,000 people. Christ’s Hands also provide dinners Monday through Friday for 100 people per day on average, many of whom are homebound.
With funding from Random Acts, Maria and US South East Regional Representative Alan Christian donated over 500 pounds of food to support Christ’s Hands and their efforts to serve their community. This donation was the equivalent of over 400 meals! Maria and Alan were on site to help with the delivery, and helped assemble and organize the food boxes for the following day.
We would like to thank Christ’s Hands for the ongoing work they do in Harlan. And we would like to thank our wonderful supporters, without whom we would not be able to accomplish any of our kindness acts. If you are someone who has donated to Random Acts, we hope you enjoy seeing your financial gifts in action in a practical way.
How You Can Help
Childhood hunger is a widespread problem. If you would like to help tackle food insecurity in your community, we encourage you to connect with your local food bank. Buying a little extra food each month to help stock local food banks is a great way to keep the momentum going. Because there is no “quick fix” to childhood hunger.
And as always, if you have an idea for spreading kindness of any kind in your community, let us know! We would love to help.