'Miracle meals': How a group tries to restore dignity of older Nigerians

To address the food insecurity problem among its low-income students, Columbia University launched Swipes, a meal sharing app in which students with a surplus of “meal swipes” could donate them to students in need. But when that app struggled to function and roll out properly, Columbia looked downtown to New York University, where student Jon Chin launched a similarly purposed but more effectively designed app, Share Meals. So far, the app has enabled over a thousand meal donations, and is hoping to work with Columbia to share its code and expand its donor services.

An organization in Portland, Maine ensures Baby Boomers who want to work are adequately trained and accepted in the work place. The Boomer Institute works with social security caps and flexible work hours, both of which prove to be obstacles for individuals looking for work after retirement.

A community organization in Indiana called Cultivate "rescues" food from local caterers, hospitals, casinos, and businesses to then be packaged into take-home meals for students at Woodland Elementary School that come from food-insecure homes. Cultivate is in its second year of existence, has three staff and 400 volunteers, and hopes to expand beyond their pilot program to reach all 21 schools in the district.

Clarke County School District in Georgia has 21 public schools that all offer free meals to students, regardless of their financial needs. This is facilitated through a federally-funded program, so even though poverty rates are high in the area, local residents are not footing the bill. While there are still some challenges implementing the program, in general it is received well and allows students to focus on their work and well-being instead of being distracted by hunger.

Administrators at Mora Independent School District have discovered that the best way to help keep their students fed during the coronavirus pandemic is to offer as many flexible options as possible. The schools have mailed meals, as well as delivering them via school buses, and offered in-school pick-up. Before closing schools, only 100 families received meals, and that number has now increased to 400 families, and schools all over New Mexico want longer-term solutions. They've now incorporated libraries and community centers to expand food accessibility.

The Ajo Center for Sustainable Agriculture has helped the town of Ajo in Arizona distribute affordable and nutrient-dense food to the community after the coronavirus pandemic created a significant financial strain on many families. Additional support has come from the town's participation in the Environmental Protection Agency's program Local Food, Local Places which "provides technical support and expertise to help towns leverage food systems to boost economic development."

A group of volunteers came together to feed young people, mostly immigrants, living on the streets. Around 40 residents of Egia began cooking hot meals to serve to people in a local community square. Two volunteers are responsible for cooking each day and many more help distribute the food. Local businesses, like a bakery, donate food and help raise funds to sustain the program, which is largely paid for by the residents themselves. The program started small, with just a few residents bringing hot meals to the square to feed a few people, and has since scaled up.

Haitian nonprofit, Health in the Mountains provided vital supplies to people in need after the earthquake. Despite a number of obstacles, the team was able to transport the supplies to the final destination.

Cornerstone Baptist Church is spearheading the redevelopment of Struggs’ Cornerstone Heights Neighborhood. In 2019, the church opened a laundromat and bike shop and last year the Cornerstone Community Kitchen began serving free hot meals to locals experiencing homelessness. The Church is soon launching a community market where local residents can access fresh, affordable food.

The elder abuse task force is a specialized unit of the Genesee County Sheriff’s Department that provides critical services to older residents and issues abuse-related warrants. Since its founding in 2018, the unit has served nearly 2,000 elderly residents and issued over 275 warrants; now, this abuse-prevention model is being scaled statewide.