expanded during a pandemic, 2020

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Early in 2020, the pandemic started ravaging the world, and we were witnessing its debilitating effects in lost jobs and consequent increased food insecurity in the Saint Louis community. This was a call to action for me and my then team of two: my wife and 11-year-old daughter.

‘Food to Share’ has been an organic, hands-on journey for us. We named Food To Share to serve people experiencing homelessness. We started by partnering with other local organizations to cook weekly hot meals to be served to people experiencing homelessness in the areas of Downtown, Ferguson, Jenning, North St. Louis & East St. Louis, and homeless shelters. As a family, we cooked hot meals for about 40 people weekly, while our daughter made breakfast sandwiches and cookies/ brownies in the 100s. We kept increasing the number of meals because the demand was much higher.

We were able to bring Starbucks as a sponsor of food donations in the summer of 2020, and our excitement knew no end when we became an official partner of Panera Bread’s food donation program. Since our early baby steps, we have learned and grown. We now distribute ~3000 meals equivalent to food every month.

We have collaborated with other local organizations such as Operations Food Search, International Institute of St. Louis, Zakat Foundation of America, Grab N Go, House of Goods, Covenant House, MICA Project, and other grassroots organizers in North Saint Louis to distribute food where it is needed most. We have partnered with some of these organizations on monthly food drives over the last several months in the most needy areas of North St. Louis and South St. Louis to help reach hundreds of individuals at an event. We conduct direct outreach to people in need via Nextdoor and other social media apps.