News/Updates

As the season officially comes to an end, we pause to celebrate the Summer of ’23. Six hundred volunteers participated in Love the Hungry packaging sessions – producing more than 145,000 fortified Nutri-Plenty servings! A container shipment of aid arrived safely at Nile Orphan Care in South Sudan – providing life changing nutrition to hundreds of children each day. More than 120,000 meals were provided to organizations delivering supplies to war-torn Ukraine. In partnership with SOS, nourishing meals are reaching children in Malawi, Ethiopia, and Nigeria, and Love the Hungry donated 15,000 meals to a mission outreach in Guatemala. It’s more than a meal. It’s the means to a healthier tomorrow.

While international distribution helps address the most urgent needs, Love the Hungry has recently provided more than 30,000 meals to assist families in Louisville, eastern Kentucky and southern Indiana. And let’s not forget that the 5th Annual Double D Farm Cruise In raised nearly $20,000 – enabling a $5,000 donation to help Nile Orphan Care build a Nutrition Center in South Sudan. Our heartfelt thanks to the volunteers, organizations, and donors that took action to make the Summer of ’23 a season of meaningful impact!

More than 300 volunteers joined Love the Hungry throughout the month of April as part of the Mayor’s “Give A Day” month of service. Volunteer teams included Middletown Christian Church, U of L Student Life/ELSB, JCPS Explore Teams (Westport Middle School, Ramsey Middle School, Newcomer Academy, Kammerer Middle School, TJ Middle School, Grace James Academy, Shawnee Middle School, Farnsley Middle School), Sims Family and Friends, St. Andrew UCC, Latter Day Saints, and Amazon.

More than 400 Wellington Elementary students grades K – 5 were among the 827 volunteers that participated in packaging sessions during the month of March. Each grade filled six stations with volunteers and rotated teams into the stations throughout the school day to create more than 11,000 Nutri-Plenty servings. In total, more than 97,000 fortified meals were produced in March with the help of volunteer teams from Toyota ProLift, Archdiocese of Louisville Youth, University of Louisville, St. Francis-Xavier, Beargrass Christian Church, and Wellington Elementary School.

Drive out to the farm, bring a lawn chair, and enjoy a great day at the 5th Annual Double D Farm Cruise-in benefiting Love the Hungry. Saturday, June 10 Noon – 5 PM. A food truck will be on site with burgers, hot dogs, sides and drinks. Music from the Black Dog String Band. Live and silent auctions help raise proceeds for Love the Hungry. The Double D Farm is located at 4900 Waddy Road in Waddy, KY. Donations of auction items in advance of the event are always appreciated. For additional information, please contact Donna at 502-533-8045.

In the aftermath of the February 6th earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria, local nonprofit organizations quickly addressed the most urgent needs and responded with a shipment of humanitarian aid. SOS helped coordinate the effort and provide logistical support to load a UPS cargo plane with 200,000 pieces of first-response medical supplies, 80 bleach making kits from WaterStep, 800 wool blankets from the local Red Cross, and more than 70,000 fortified meals from Love the Hungry. With funding from the UPS Foundation, a UPS disaster response flight was scheduled, and the supplies arrived on February 18. Non-governmental agencies in both Turkey and Syria are coordinating distribution of the supplies.

More than 50,000 deaths have been reported, and it’s estimated that 1.5 million homes were destroyed.

146 volunteers in two locations joined Love the Hungry on January 16th for a Day of Service in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Participants included students from Bardstown HS, Bethlehem HS, St. Joseph School, and the University of Louisville, plus volunteers from the Bardstown Rotary Club and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority/Beta Alpha Xi Zeta Chapter. More than 28,000 Nutri-Plenty® servings were packaged – providing nourishment for children and families suffering from chronic hunger.

462 volunteers participated in Love the Hungry packaging sessions during the month of November – producing 105,846 Nutri-Plenty® servings. Participating groups included the Rotary Club of Louisville East Sunrise/CEC Interact, UPS New Hire Pilots, Middletown Christian Church, Immaculate Conception Parish, Thrivent Mid-America Member Network, Louisville Task Force to Aid Ukraine, Taylor Advisors, and St. Aloysius Church and School. Love the Hungry currently has fortified meals being delivered to Cuba, Guatemala, Liberia, and Ukraine to assist in addressing hunger that has reached crisis levels.

In October, Love the Hungry began the transition to a new Packaging Center location at 3103 Fern Valley Rd – Suite 107. Located in the heart of Louisville near the airport, the new site features 4,000 SF of event space that can accommodate groups of 100+ volunteers. The new location also greatly expands the capacity to store raw materials and packaged meals. Details will be announced soon for the official grand opening. Groups of all sizes are welcome to schedule packaging sessions by contacting Love the Hungry at info@lovethehungry.org or 502-459-9199.

On September 14th, more than 400 students grades K-8 at St. Peter’s Lutheran School (Columbus, IN) worked throughout the school day to create 32,010 fortified Nutri-Plenty® meals. With the help of Orphan Grain Train of Indiana, 132 cartons of nutritious, easy-to-prepare meals will be delivered to Myra, KY to assist the Manna From Heaven food pantry in restocking their shelves. The pantry, that assists underserved families in Letcher County, lost all of its contents during the devastating July 28 flash flooding, including several freezers and refrigerators that were full of perishable food.

Seventy-five YouthWorks volunteers from throughout the U.S. worked in small-group teams in June and July to package more than 22,000 Nutri-Plenty® servings. The fortified meals are being included in shipments of aid to Ukraine, Haiti, and Eastern Kentucky. YouthWorks volunteers also provided help in moving equipment and supplies to a new storage location. THANK YOU YouthWorks for your commitment to serving children and families vulnerable to hunger.