Nonprofit Spotlight: Ben Curtis Family Foundation

When Ben and Candace Curtis decided to help tackle food insecurity, they focused on some of our community's most precious assets: elementary school students. Since 2013, the Ben Curtis Family Foundation's Birdie Bag program has ensured that thousands of local students are fed throughout the weekends. Birdie Bags – filled with nonperishable easy-to-make meals, healthy snacks, and toiletries – are given to children in need at regular weekly intervals throughout the school year and in the summer, when food insecurity is at its highest.

With recent ACF funding, Ben Curtis Family Foundation was able to provide 83,250 meals and 55,500 snacks for more than 2,100 children facing food insecurity in the Akron, Barberton, Cuyahoga Falls and Woodridge school districts through the Birdie Bag Program.

"Our foundation is passionate about fighting food insecurity and believes that no child should wonder where their next meal is coming from," said Co-founder Candace Curtis. "Food insecurity is everywhere and sometimes hard to detect. The partnership we have with the school districts eliminates a lot of barriers such as transportation and paperwork and gets our Birdie Bags into the hands of any child that needs it."

Curtis added that anyone can help raise awareness about hunger being a growing community problem, but for those who'd like to help the nonprofit in a more specific way, "We always enjoy new volunteers to help us pack Birdie Bags on Wednesdays and help at our fundraising events. We are very appreciative of the support that donors have shown us through Akron Community Foundation to support our mission. We want them to know that they are truly making an impact for so many children in our community."

For more information, visit bencurtisfoundation.org.