Press Release – Since becoming CEO of Feeding Children Everywhere (FCE) a little over a year ago, Dave Green has helped feed millions of hungry children and families around the globe and here in the U.S.
Stepping back, he’s in awe of all the Central Florida-based organization and its partners have accomplished. But ultimately, he says: “It isn’t enough.”
Green isn’t ungrateful, but he is unsatisfied that most hunger-relief organizations — including his own — aren’t doing more to create a hunger-free world.
“As we look at where we are today, we realize there’s so much more we can do. We aren’t doing enough to solve a problem that’s been plaguing humanity since day one: hunger.”
An astounding 42 million Americans are food insecure, not knowing where their next meal is coming from. Green is launching several innovative initiatives both to meet immediate needs and to address the root causes of hunger in the U.S.
Dave Green demonstrates Fed 40, an app to end hunger in America.
Fed 40: A Mobile App to End Hunger in America
Fed 40 is FCE’s mobile app designed with one audacious goal in mind: End hunger in America. Using the app, families who need food can get 40 nutritious meals delivered directly to their doors in about one business day. There’s never a charge to receive the meals or to reorder.
“It’s a more efficient, dignified and environmentally responsible way to end hunger in the U.S.,” Green says.
The program is expanding quickly and is now available in many states — most recently, North and South Carolina, where nearly 2.5 million people face food insecurity. The app is available at the App Store and Google Play or by visiting Fed40.com.
Microfarming
Imagine for a moment living your entire life without being able to shop at a grocery store. You’re forced to go without fresh fruits or vegetables, and even have no access to the basic ingredients required for a healthy home-cooked meal. All of your meals would be resorting to fast food or processed junk food that you purchased at the corner store with SNAP (food stamp benefits). That dismal scenario is a reality for millions of impoverished Americans living in food deserts.
“Food deserts are the frontlines of the war on hunger in America,” Green explains. Fed 40 is just the first step to address an immediate need. The long-term plan is to bring urban farming to these areas, transforming food deserts into food producers:
“We’ve got to come up with more efficient, more sustainable ways to produce food. Because if we have more efficient food systems, we produce more nutrition. The more we can do that at a local level, the closer we get to creating a hunger-free world.”
Sustainability
Global climate disruption is impacting the planet in ways never experienced in human history. Warmer temperatures are contributing to changing weather patterns that cause more intense storms and heavier rainfall in some places and drought in others.
These changes are having a direct effect on worldwide hunger. In response, FCE has made a pledge to environmental sustainability — taking steps aimed at reducing its carbon footprint and promoting food production in the communities it serves. This includes packaging its Red Lentil Jambalaya meals in biodegradable bags; and planting trees in the countries where its meals are distributed internationally.
Additionally, FCE is taking steps as an organization to manage its overall carbon emissions by reducing company travel by 40 percent and opening a satellite office and warehouse in Dallas to serve as a central distribution point.
“These moves are the biggest steps towards a hunger-free America we have ever taken,” Green concludes. “We believe this is a watershed moment — for Feeding Children Everywhere, for our partners and for the millions of children and families who need our help.
“There’s a hunger hero in all of us. And working together, we can create a hunger-free world.”
ABOUT FEEDING CHILDREN EVERYWHERE
Feeding Children Everywhere is activating people for a hunger-free world. Since 2010, FCE has mobilized 475,953 volunteers at corporations, businesses, universities, faith-based organizations and more to package 71,806,329 meals for hungry children and families. Activate your team at feedingchildreneverywhere.com.
