Ryle students send 7,000 meals to Eastern Ky.

by Justin Duke, NKY Enquirer
Ryle students send 7,000 meals to Eastern Ky.

FLORENCE — A little bit of work is going a long way.

Ryle’s Future Business Leaders of America club sent about 7,000 meals to food banks in the Appalachian region of Kentucky.

Students from the Ryle FBLA loaded a truck full of about 7,000 meals to send to Kenucky's Appalachian region. The meals were purchased with $2,050 raised from a 5k in November. / Thanks to Faith Evans

The effort began in November when the club hosted a 5k to raise money for Kids Against Hunger.

Kids Against Hunger is a charity that aims to significantly reduce the number of hungry children in the United States and to feed starving children throughout the world. This is done by distributing a highly nutritious, vitamin-fortified soy-rice casserole to starving children and their families in more than 60 countries through partnerships with humanitarian organizations worldwide.

The 5k raised $2,050, which was used to buy the meals.

About 40 volunteers from the FBLA joined up with several other groups who’d raised money for meals at 7 Hills Church in Florence Jan. 12 to pack up meals and ship them off. With the 7,000 meals from the Ryle FBLA, a total of 38,000 meals are going to the Appalachia area.

Due to tough economic circumstances, that area was facing malnutrition risks, said FBLA member Sadhvika Reddy, a senior.

“Their food banks had completely empty shelves,” Reddy said.

Having the FBLA put a dent in the problem is a proud accomplishment for the group, she said.

“Just thinking about feeding 7,000 people is hard to fathom,” Reddy said.

This was the FBLA’s first experience with Kids Against Hunger, but after seeing how much the club can help, the relationship will likely continue, said FBLA member Faith Evans, a junior.

“I think next year we might continue with the packaging because it was such an awesome experience,” Evans said.