Local cafe helps feed kids across country

One Wrangell restaurant has been making an effort to help feed hungry children in addition to its diners.

Zak's Cafe owners Katherine George-Byrd and James George set aside half of their restaurant's profits last week for non-profit group Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign. The nationwide initiative seeks to connect underfed children with nutritious meals. The group works in a number of cities with partner organizations, including private citizens, businesses, schools and government agencies.

To raise awareness, it designated September "No Kid Hungry Month." Restaurants across the country such as Zak's pooled resources for the initiative, with collected funds going toward boosting enrollment in nutritional assistance programs, teaching healthy cooking skills to families, and supporting a variety of local programs aimed at keeping kids fed.

One in particular George liked was a program which converted buses into food trucks, providing lunches for kids in New York City during the summer.

"Every other place does different stuff," he said. "We really like these programs because they're real legit."

The campaign is not the first the couple has participated in, first holding a "Pay What You Can" fundraiser for group Heifer International. Over three years, their restaurant raised enough money to sponsor four pairs of cows for villages abroad.

The couple has also held fundraisers to assist disaster victims, such as the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the Haiti earthquake in 2010. They also support causes closer to home, such as St. Frances Animal Rescue.

George explained what had eventually drawn them to the Share Our Strength group was its focus on hunger at home in the United States. The organization estimates one in five American children go underfed, particularly in the summertime for those whose only lunches come from school.

"Most of them are under five years old," George commented. The cook explained the importance of a nutritious meal to young students, which not only keeps them fed but helps them stay focused on their studies through the day.

"For a lot of kids, the only meal that they have is in school," he said.

Zak's used this year's "Pay What You Can" fundraiser to support the initiative in 2012, becoming the first restaurant in Alaska to do so.

"We made it nationwide," George-Byrd said. After that, the program was officially operating in all 50 states.

Following that year's fundraiser, Zak's owners had to forgo further events for several years due to ongoing medical costs. This year marks the first enent they felt able to hold in a while, and George-Byrd said she was glad.

"It was fun," she said. "Every night we've had a big group of people."

Serving specials through the week, from Monday to Friday, the two ended up raising $1,500 for the hunger initiative through sales and several donations.

"We're not breaking any records, but every little bit helps," said George-Byrd.