Alarmed by the growing number of neighbors needing food assistance and the challenges local restaurants were facing to survive, a small group of friends decided they had to do what they could.

After researching how other communities were tackling these issues, they pooled together $25,000 in seed money to create Take Out Hunger.

The premise is simple. Their initial donation would compensate three local restaurants to prepare and package 280 nutritious meals a week to be delivered to three local non-profits where the meals were needed the most.

Their goal going forward? To raise enough donations from businesses and individuals to grow the network of restaurants to meet an ever-increasing demand for meals to those in need.

By all accounts, this group of friends considers it a win-win-win.

• Nutritious meals are provided to the hungry.
• Revenue is generated for local restaurants struggling to stay open through the winter.
• Restaurant employees are kept on the job.
• And the three local service organizations Take Out Hunger is partnering with get a helping hand to feed the increasing thousands of people requesting assistance.

The initial group is also quick to point out that 100% of the donations to Take Out Hunger are used to purchase meals to distribute to those who are food insecure.