This Wednesday the South Plains Food Bank will be receiving $155,000 from the John B. Malouf Estate for the “Feed our Kids. Fuel our Future” campaign. The donation comes one week after the Food Bank kicked-off their campaign, dedicated to alleviating childhood hunger across the South Plains over the next five years.
“My parents raised 8 children and our kitchen was always filled with neighbors, family, and friends,” says Beverly Malouf-Debolski, daughter of the late Eleanor and John Malouf. “Mom and Dad loved people, and they expressed it by feeding others. They really cared for their community. Children having food every day should be a basic human right and this is a very important cause.”
Every year, the South Plains Food Bank Kitchen of Hope provides meals for over 3,500 children across the area. In recognition of this significant donation, the Kitchen of Hope will be dedicated in memory of Eleanor and John Malouf.
“The Food Bank has a great plan in place to help more kids in the future,” says Malouf-Debolski. “and all of my sisters and brothers are honored to be a part of it and for the South Plains Food Bank kitchen to bear our parents’ name.”
According to the South Plains Food Bank, 1 in 4 children across the area struggle with food-insecurity and don’t know where their next meal is going to come from. To combat this statistic, the Food Bank has a plan to – over the next five years – establish 10 new Kids Cafe sites, distribute 500 more snack packs for school holidays, and prepare 500 more Kids Cafe meals each day.
David Weaver, CEO for the South Plains Food Bank, says the donation will help move the campaign in the right direction and hopes the community can follow the example set forth by the Malouf family.
“We are so thankful for the opportunities this donation will provide and we are so thankful for the legacy Eleanor and John Malouf left behind,” says Weaver. “Countless children will be helped because of the generosity of the Malouf family.”
The food bank hopes to raise the additional $350,000 needed to meet their $500,000 this year through community donations. Donations towards the “Feed Our Children. Fuel Our Future.” campaign can be made online at spfb.org.
(News release from the South Plains Food Bank)
