Photo courtesy Danforth Plant Science Center
Volunteers at a previous World Food Day event
"It's really to create awareness in our community and to involve the community with these larger-scale issues that don't really touch us in particular, but are very common in the world," says assistant director of development Karina Benabe.
"Also, it's to bring people in to help out with this cause and have them learn more about how you can be a part of the solution, whether it's short term or long term."
Photo courtesy Danforth Plant Science Center
Children in Tanzania benefit from World Food Day efforts.
"The Science Highlights are going to be very surprising and very interactive for all ages," public relations manager Melanie Bernds says. "It's going to represent plant science and how it connects to hunger, and what that means to St. Louis."
This is the second year the Danforth Center is participating in World Food Day. Last year, the event brought in about 1,900 volunteers. This year the goal is 3,000 volunteers creating 500,000 food packages.
Hannah Hightower, an eighteen-year-old senior at Visitation Academy, is on the Junior Board at the Danforth Center and volunteered at the event last year. Hightower also traveled to Tanzania to help distribute the food packages to children last February. She says providing one solid meal for the children of Tanga really perked the children up and made them stronger.
"I can't even describe it, it was so moving," Hightower relates. "I sat down with them while they were eating. I don't know much Swahili, but I was trying to use the guidebook to ask the kids how they like the meal -- they all loved it."
