Food insecurity is a persistent issue in many American communities. While there are hundreds of organizations and food banks around the U.S. to provide assistance to these families in need, many smaller businesses and communities play an important role in providing access to food. These smaller organizations rely on volunteers and donations to help stock pantries and distribute food throughout neighborhoods.
Recently, many student-led organizations have begun contributing to these efforts as well. In Louisville, students have created initiatives focused on collecting food donations and supporting local pantries. One of these groups is Bites4All.
As part of their efforts, Bites4All partnered with the nonprofit Linking Arms for Louisville to host a food drive at Watkins United Methodist Church on Westport Road. Their drive collected over 200 pounds of nonperishable food items and distributed them among food shelves in Louisville.
“My main goal was to raise enough food to stock two or three food shelves, but also to spread a broader awareness about what we’re doing,” said Bites4All’s founder, Aishwarya Ramasamy (11, MST).
Since the development of Bites4All, Ramasamy has tried to include students from multiple Louisville schools other than Manual, such as Ballard High School and Kentucky Country Day. Members help organize food drives and collect donations that are later distributed to community food shelves. These shelves work similarly to “little libraries,” allowing families to easily take food whenever they need it without filling out forms or having to speak directly with volunteers.
Organizing these initiatives requires significant outreach and coordination with community organizations. As a student-led nonprofit, members of Bites4All typically have to contact different churches and other groups across Louisville to find locations that are willing to host food drives and keep food shelves open 24/7.
“The biggest challenge was definitely just the outreach,” said co-founder Medhasvi Kakulamarri (11, MST). “We emailed and talked to like 50 different places, a bunch of churches, about opening up little pantries.”
Despite the challenges, Kakulamarri said that the response from the community has truly been encouraging. Through these partnerships with organizations such as Linking Arms for Louisville, Bites4All has been able to expand its outreach and connect with other nonprofits and organizations in Louisville.
A major part of organizing the food drive at Watkins Church was the collaborative team effort between Bites4All and Linking Arms for Louisville. Linking Arms is a nonprofit that works to connect donors and volunteers with organizations that are working to meet community needs. With the help of Linking Arms, Bites4All was able to have a successful food drive through coordination of food and host the event at Watkins church itself, a connection that was made possible thanks to Jenna Wheelock, co-founder of Linking Arms. For Wheelock, raising awareness about food insecurity is something that is so important and can affect many aspects of a person’s daily life.
“If you don’t have enough to eat and are struggling to eat, then it’s hard to get to work or get to school,” Wheelock said. “Food is the energy by which we accomplish everything else in our lives.”
Wheelock said that she first discovered Bites4All through their social media and was interested in supporting the students’ work. After connecting with them, Linking Arms was able to help them to organize the food drive and to promote the event to other donors and volunteers.
“I’m an easy yes when it comes to supporting students,” Wheelock said.
The donations collected during the drive were used to restock several community food shelves around Louisville. These shelves are designed to allow people to be able to easily access food without needing to contact anyone or explain their situation.
“It’s genuinely heartbreaking to know that someone my age might not have the same access to food that I do,” said treasure of Bites4All Ruqayah Khammas (10, HSU). “We’re the next generation, and we can do something about it.”
As Bites4All continues to grow, members say that they hope to organize more food drives and increase the number of food shelves that they’re able to stock across Louisville. Through partnerships with community organizations and with support from student volunteers, their goal is to continue raising awareness about food insecurity and helping provide resources to families in need.
“Even one or two small donations or an hour of someone’s time can make a huge impact,” Ramasamy said.
