FORK ready to focus on nutrition education

As part of the long-range planning done by Feed Our Rural Kids Inc., (FORK) in preparation for 2021 and beyond, the FORK Board of Directors defined education as one of four measures of how they will define their organizational success.

“Did You Know? is a new educational project for FORK,” said Rick Miech, education director for FORK. “Our goal is to provide our Facebook community with bite-sized perspectives to broaden general knowledge and deepen personal understanding of food insecurity as an issue. We will do this by talking about the effects of food insecurity on children and the society. We will also provide information related to the societal issues behind the problem and greater insight into the FORK organization as related to our mission within the broader community.”

A few examples of these bite-sized perspectives might be:

• Workers who experienced hunger as children are not as well prepared physically, mentally, emotionally, or socially to perform effectively in the contemporary workforce (source-Nokidhungry.org).

• Access to food stamps prior to age 5 has a larger effect on adult health than access after age 5 (source- Humphrey School of Public Affairs).

• The federally-run SNAP program benefit does not cover the cost of a low-income meal in 99% of U.S. continental counties and the District of Columbia (source-Urban.org).

“The information is concise, but helps FORK to tell their story, and promises to be sourced from trusted experts on the topic of food insecurity,” Miech continued. “FORK hopes that individuals will Like us and Follow us and then share this information with the community.”

Perry Pokrandt, president of FORK, said it’s important for people to learn through nutritional education.

“Knowledge is power. Through FORK’s efforts to provide our community a broader understanding of the issue of childhood food insecurity, we believe that individuals will not only offer their financial support, but will become advocates for the cause,” said Pokrandt.

Individuals not connected to Facebook will find this information cataloged on the FORK website (Feedourruralkids.org). Click on the Did You Know? link at the bottom of the page.

FORK is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to provide nutritional support to children from food insecure homes within eastern and central Vilas County.