Colin Kaepernick & Impossible Foods Plan To Feed 1 Million People
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Colin Kaepernick and Impossible Foods are teaming up to feed 1 million people. Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp is fighting for social justice across the board. The collaboration started in San Francisco with the San Francisco Marin Food Bank and Al Pastor Papi food truck.
Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp is a nonprofit organization that advances civil rights through education, self-empowerment, mass-mobilization, and leadership in many cities throughout the U.S. It operates camps for children of color and was founded by Kaepernick, who made a powerful stand for the rights of black people in America when he knelt during the national anthem to protest social inequality and police brutality and raise awareness of the problem.
Patricia Robinson, Director of Community Outreach for Know Your Rights Camp, stated, “Gaining access to healthy and affordable food should not be a challenge for residents of any community. Know Your Rights Camp is committed to participating in changing the outcomes and disparities that currently exist for families, while we further grow awareness and acknowledge that maintaining good health and nutrition should not be selective for some, but should be experienced by all.”
Impossible Foods, which is a Silicon Valley company that produces plant-based meat and dairy products, made the announcement on July 9 that it was collaborating with Kaepernick and the Know Your Rights Camp to support food security and social justice throughout 2020. So far, Impossible Foods has provided relief to over 750,000 people who are struggling with food insecurity. The startup hopes to donate plant-based meat and feed a million people this year.
Al Pastor Papi Food Truck cooked and distributed Impossible Burgers and the San Francisco Marin Food Bank donated extra food and prepared meals. Impossible Foods stated that it will donate to subsequent Know Your Rights Camp engagements in LA, New York, and additional cities will later be announced.
Impossible Foods has a goal to make the food system sustainable. It does this by eliminating the need for animal agriculture, which is a leading cause of climate change and biodiversity collapse. As with food insecurity, climate change disproportionately affects people of color and exacerbates the public health crisis that black, Native American, and Latinx communities face.
Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in America, Impossible Foods has donated and raised funds to feed 750,000 people. It’s donated almost 100,000 pounds of Impossible Burgers, which is almost equal to 400,000 quarter-pound patties. Impossible Foods has also raised more than $35,000 for donations — this equates to about 350,000 meals for at-risk communities.
It has also donated to organizations feeding front-line medical workers, emergency workers, and others. Impossible Foods plans to continue its donations throughout the rest of the year to help organizations that fight for social justice. It’s donated food to organizations that are focusing on voter registrations and fighting against police brutality.
“Impossible Foods’ mission is to reverse the clock on climate change, restore biodiversity and expand natural ecosystems — results that will literally transform the way earth looks from space. At the same time, as an essential business in an unprecedented challenging time, we also exist to serve the most basic and immediate needs of our community — including the food insecurity crisis and social justice struggles in our hometown region of the San Francisco Bay Area and communities throughout America.” — CEO and Founder of Impossible Foods, Dr. Patrick O. Brown.
Before the pandemic hit, millions of children in America were already going hungry and facing food insecurity. The USDA stated that more than 11 million children in the U.S. lived in food-insecure homes. This means that these households don’t have enough food for everyone to eat healthily.
With the coronavirus, that number is projected to go up to 18 million children facing hunger this year. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed that 38 million Americans lived in poverty in 2018. 15 million of those were children. The coronavirus has created a reality for many Americans: more people are facing hunger and poverty today. Normally, summertime is the hungriest time of the year for children since there is no school to provide meals. Many kids rely on free meals to make up for the lack of food at home. With schools being closed due to the pandemic, spring has extended this hunger season for many families. By stepping up to feed 1 million people, both Impossible Foods and Know Your Rights Camp are providing a ray of hope in dark times.
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