For Karl Leiber, the mission to fight hunger began long before Kids Against Hunger started packing meals in St. Peters.
In 1991, Karl traveled to Haiti with Jerry Lantz and Terry Estes as part of a team working to build a community center, school and church. Surrounded by extreme poverty and hunger, the men encountered a young boy suffering from severe starvation, an experience that helped shape decades of work serving vulnerable communities around the world.
Their efforts eventually expanded to providing food, livestock, wells, water filtration systems and other assistance. Then, in 2009, Lantz approached Karl with another idea.
“I first heard of Kids Against Hunger in 2009 when Jerry Lantz approached me with an idea to address local and international hunger,” Karl said. “We met at a Steak 'n Shake in Saint Charles, where he asked for my thoughts on providing a single, highly nutritious meal. I immediately thought it was an awesome idea.”
Since 2015, Kids Against Hunger St. Peters has packed, shipped and delivered more than 5.6 million meals with the help of more than 26,500 volunteers. Its nutritious, shelf-stable meals can be packed by volunteers and distributed to people in need locally and internationally.
Among those volunteers is Katy Foust, whose involvement began about four years ago when her family was invited to a food packing event through her father’s Bible study.
“I really like how they feed children and families locally and around the world,” Katy said.
Her involvement soon grew beyond packing meals.
One summer, Katy asked her mother if she could have a lemonade stand like other children in the neighborhood. Her mother suggested doing something more creative. Inspired by a plant-swap cart they found on Pinterest, Katy decided to sell plants instead, and donate the proceeds to Kids Against Hunger.
She shared the idea with school and church friends and her parents’ friends. Soon, people were donating plants, pots and soil. Customers came, businesses offered support and others simply donated money.
“I was very amazed when I saw teachers from my school, friends and family, my church, the St Charles police department and men from my dad's Bible study,” Katy said.
By the fourth annual plant stand, the fundraiser brought in nearly $7,000, enough to provide more than 27,500 meals.
“I couldn't believe that so many people were getting fed from all the amazing donations that were given for the plant stand,” Katy said. “I was so incredibly grateful.”
That ripple effect is something Karl has witnessed repeatedly. Kids Against Hunger team members recently traveled to Kenya, where thousands of meals have been sent, and met with more than 20 recipient groups.
“Without exception, every group praised the quality of the food and asked for as much as we could send,” Karl said.
For Katy, giving has also changed her understanding of gratitude.
“Before I did the plant stand I didn't really think of how many people there were in need and I didn't really think of giving,” she said. “As those three years went by with kids against hunger I slowly started to realize how many people I was helping and how many people needed the food that was provided from all the donations.”
It echoes the lesson Karl says he has learned over 35 years of service. For both, that change begins with choosing to help.
“Benevolence starts locally—in our homes, neighborhoods, and communities—and expands outward,” he said. “Individually and collectively, we have the power to create meaningful change.”
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