Hana first came face to face with poverty when she visited China. Upon returning back to the United States, she noticed more and more people in her community facing hunger, homelessness and other dire circumstances. Overwhelmed by how big of a problem food insecurity is – 1 in 7 Central Floridians and 1 in 5 kids experience hunger each year – and unsure of how to make difference, she began researching how the pandemic impacted hunger as part of her senior project at Edgewood Jr./ Sr. High School.
“I learned that even though the issue is huge and affects so many people, every small action counts,” explains Hana.
She decided to combine her love of art with the cause, hoping to contribute ceramic bowls from her pottery studio to an empty bowls fundraiser. Most large-scale events were canceled due to the pandemic, so she created a hybrid Empty Bowls Project at a local café in Merritt Island and used Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida’s virtual food drive platform to encourage friends and family across the country to participate.
Hana and local artists donated ceramic bowls and Mother Pucker’s Café provided soup, a vegetarian dip and bread with each $15 donation. Between in-person donations and online contributions, Hana exceeded her fundraising goal of $500 and will be able to provide 4,668 meals to kids, families and seniors.
Hana admits that planning and hosting an event is a lot of work. But, she learned that small steps can take you a long way toward achieving a goal.
“I hope that one day no one has to face hunger or an empty bowl,” she says.
Learn more about starting a virtual food drive, hosting a fundraising event or other ways to help fight hunger and feed hope.
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