In September 2021, Toledo, Ohio-based metal brokers and recyclers Kripke Enterprises Inc. (KEI) began a partnership with Connecting Kids to Meals (CKTM) of Toledo to help children experiencing food insecurity.
“September is Hunger Action Month and there are a lot of organizations that draw attention to that
Kripke employees volunteer.
problem, so we researched the organizations in our area that attack this issue,” said Matthew Kripke, CEO of KEI. “When we found Connecting Kids to Meals, we sent a team over to meet with them and the team came back blown away by the nonprofit.”
CKTM provides healthy meals at no cost to at-risk kids in Northwest Ohio. They partner with schools, libraries, emergency shelters, and community centers as well as city parks and pools to ensure access to meals for kids in need. Last year they provided just over one million meals to at-risk children. They have been doing this work in the community for 19 years and are the largest provider of kids’ meals during out-of-school time in NW Ohio.
During the first year of the partnership, KEI raised $25,000 for CKTM through its Metals for Meals program, which gave KEI customers the opportunity to donate their metal or any portion of their transactions to CKTM. The second and third year of the partnership KEI raised $29,000 and $30,000 respectively. This year, the company has raised $31,000 through a program called Shred Hunger.
“We have a gofundme where every dollar donated goes directly toward connecting local kids to healthy, ready-to-eat meals,” said Alyssa Ansara, trader at KEI. “Our retail team also sells t-shirts that say ‘shred hunger’ on the back. We’re asking retail customers if they want to donate meals. One dollar equals two meals so it’s not a hard commitment to make a big difference in these kids’ daily lives.”
KEI has also gotten the word out about the program through social media and an email campaign.
“We hope that these efforts encourage our customers to support a hunger action effort, regardless of whether they’re able to donate to CKTM or if it inspires them to look for a similar organization in their own community,” Kripke said. “This is an issue that’s present everywhere in the country and communities all over have programs like this one.”
In addition to the donations, several KEI team members have had the opportunity to pack meals and lunches at CKTM.
“As a company, we’ve been really hands on with this nonprofit and a lot of our colleagues continue to volunteer there on weekends. It’s been great to see,” Ansara said. “We enjoy working with Connecting Kids to Meals and everyone at Kripke can see the impact and difference that we’re making.”
According to Kripke, when a recycled materials company joins a new area or location, it’s important to make a positive impact on the community.
“It’s good for your employees because they know they’re working at a place that cares about the local area and that we’re interested in helping people,” Kripke said. “You want to live in a place that you’re also actively helping to improve, and we feel that we’re doing that. We want to improve all the spaces we’re involved in and that includes the Recycled Materials Association. We want to make the industry better for all our peers.”
*Images courtesy of of Kripke Enterprises Inc.
