According to a 2012 release by Communities Count, 20% of King County children are food insecure and 13% of King County residents overall are food insecure. With the rise in food insecurity among families it is crucial that we take steps towards decreasing this number. This became an issue that high school students Favour Orji, Ayanna O’Neal, Chris Moody, Tolu Amudipe, Byron Gaines, Jackson Patterson, and Torri Brown came together to tackle in their leadership class at TAF Academy. In the class, students are divided into groups each tasked with identifying a need in their community with different actions they can take to address this need.

After brainstorming in their immediate group, the group concluded on partnering with Northwest Harvest. Northwest Harvest is a nonprofit food bank in Washington and with more than 370 food banks providing more than 2 million meals every month to everyone in Washington State. Once the group had decided on volunteering at Northwest Harvest, their next steps consisted of:

• Contacting individuals
• Getting necessary forms and permission needed.

In order to make the process more effective, the group divided into miniature groups each with individual deliverables. Finally, on September 29, the group made their way to the Kent Warehouse to start their volunteering. On arriving at Northwest Harvest, the group got right to work, they separated into 2 groups with 5 people packing the food and 1 person working to restock the food packed. After only 2 hours the group had 840 bags of 3 squares which results in a total of 2,520 meals packed that day.

Senior and project manager Favour Orji commented, “The biggest take away for me in this project was being able to see the positive impact my actions had made. In just 2 hours the group was able to pack close to three thousand meals for individuals. It was amazing seeing our group come together to help provide a meal for those individuals who need it. This just goes to show the impact our actions, no matter how small it might seem, can have on other people”. The next step for the group is to take the experience they gained from this project and bring it back to their immediate school community. One thing is for sure though; whatever project these students embark on is sure to make have a positive impact on those around them.