Meals from the Heartland
Empowering people to save starving children.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
According to recent studies, 1 in 8 Iowans struggle with hunger, 1 in 7 Iowa children don’t have enough to eat, and nearly 325,000 Iowans live at or below poverty level. Across the United States, 15.3 million children live in food-insecure households, and 20% or more of the child population in 37 states live in food-insecure households. Around the world, the numbers are even more staggering with 1 in 4 people in sub-Saharan regions of Africa reported as undernourished and 100 million children in developing countries considered underweight. To respond to this and to respond to the food and basic needs that result when natural disasters hit, Meals from the Heartland empowers people to save starving children by organizing and hosting community meal packaging events. In 2022 we packaged our 200 millionth meal since our inception and we ae poised to continue to package millions of meals each year to help feed the hungry.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Children's Feeding Initiative
Together with our meals distribution partner, we support numerous feeding initiatives all around the world. Oftentimes the Meals from the Heartland meal a child eats is their only meal of the day and is provided through the feeding initiative. This daily meal is a starting point and our hope is that these children grow up to be leaders in their own communities.
Disaster Relief
In uncertain times following a natural disaster Meals from the Heartland works to provide nutritious food to those in need. Working with our meals distribution partner we look to provide relief at the earliest possible time.
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
Points of Light Certified Service Enterprise 2021
Charity Navigator 2021
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of children reached with a meal each school day
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
In support of our meal distribution partner's children's global feeding initiatives.
Number of containers of aid shipped
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
Children's Feeding Initiative
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Equates to the number of cargo containers of meals that we distribute throughout the world.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Our 2022 vision to alleviate life-threatening hunger is three pronged: 1) to educate others about global hunger and everyone's role in this issue, 2) to engage the community to be part of the solution, and 3) to ultimately feed those in need. As we embark upon our second decade of operation, we remain poised to execute our vision with the faithful support of our volunteers and donors.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We offer a variety of meal packaging options designed to engage communities of all kinds and of all ages. First and foremost we offer packaging events at our West Des Moines packaging center that are available to interested parties on a first come, first serve basis. We host these events five days each week. These open events are funded by general donations and grants. In addition, we host private packaging events at our packaging center as well as at locations around the Midwest. Private events are funded by the requesting organization. Private events are great ways to engage schools, churches, businesses, civic organizations, and community event organizers. Lastly, we host an Annual Hunger Fight each year that draws in nearly 10,000 volunteers and in four days in 2022 we packaged 3.4 million meals. This is a tremendous way to bring the community together and make a big impact in a short amount of time. We welcome opportunities to engage as many volunteers as we can to feed more and more hungry people in Iowa and all around the world.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
We have a dedicated staff who are passionate about our mission and vision. Our engaged Board demonstrates support in a myriad of ways and we have a volunteer base that is second to none! Our packaging center and warehouse are both paid for (as part of our initial capital campaign), which allows us to allocate more towards program expenses. Our mobile hunger fight model is very efficient, effective, and honed over the past decade. Our hunger fight managers are fantastic ambassadors for our organization and work diligently to keep organizations engaged in our vision year over year. We have a tremendous meals distribution partner in Convoy of Hope and their passion and excellence, and core competence as a relief organization, permeates our organization as well. In addition, we have some long-standing, strategic partners that have fully bought into our mission and vision and their ongoing support establishes a firm foundation for the foreseeable future.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In raw numbers, we have packaged over 200million meals since our inception in 2008 and engaged over 500,000 volunteers. Until such time that hunger is completely eradicated, we will set our sights on packaging as many meals as we possibly can given the community support that comes along side us.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Meals from the Heartland
Board of directorsas of 01/25/2023
Mr. Jerry Armstrong
Retired
Term: 2008 -
Dan Koestner
Ernst & Young
Rebecca Young
Wells Fargo
R. Kim Dreher
Valley Disaster Relief
Jeff Austin
Berkshire Hathaway Energy
Jesse Bunney
Lawmark Capital, Inc
Steve Carlson
Wells Fargo
Tracy Schmidt
NCMIC/Professional Solutions
Amanda Rinehart
Corteva Agriscience
Doug Shelton
FBL Financial Group
Dave Bradley
Retired
Susan Bunz
Stellar Industries
John Ferin
Retired, LCS
Jeff Austin
Berkshire Hathaway Energy
Heather Campbell
MercyOne
Bill Lowe
Sammons Institutional Group
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data