By K.D. Norris
WKTV Contributor
When you first glance at the book cover of Kids’ Food Basket founder Mary K. Hoodhood’s new memoir, you can read the title in at least two different ways.
You can see it as asking the question “What Can I Do,” as in resignation to the inability to tackle difficult social problems such as hunger among our youth.
But you can also see it as a call to action, personal action: “What I can do” to be part of the solution to such issues. The book was co-written with Lisa McNeilly, PhD.
The life story, so far, of “Mary K” as most people know her, is a testament to “doing what you can do” in one’s personal journey, even overcoming huge physical obstacles, to serve the community.
In Mary K’s life, serving the community, including founding Kids’ Food Basket (KFB), has been a driving force in moving her forward.
“My upbringing and Catholic education helped me understand the importance of community and giving back,” Mary K. said to WKTV. “I was working at God’s Kitchen when I found out about kids not receiving an evening meal at home at the three GRPS (Grand Rapids Pubic Schools) schools KFB started with.
“I knew that this was an injustice, and it wasn’t the kids fault. I also knew that I could raise the money and get the volunteers to help.”
And raise the money, and get the volunteers/community/government support needed to run Kids’ Food Bank is exactly what she has done — this year, KFB sends 10,000 sack suppers to 60 schools across four counties every weekday.
Inspiring others to “Do what they can do,” that just came along naturally.
Finding a calling after tragedy
In the introduction to “What I Can Do,” Mary K. dedicates the book to her husband, Jeff, with the words “My life is possible because of your love and devotion.”
And discussion in the book of her support network is an essential part of understanding her drive to serve the community as she overcame an automobile accident in her 20s that left her paralyzed from the chest down.
Instead of focusing on what she could no longer do, she states, she started repeating her mantra: “I will focus on what I can do.”
Successful before her accident, Mary K. Roach was born and raised in Grand Rapids and earned a degree in education from Michigan State University in 1973. One of her first jobs was working with the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Michigan, working with high school and community college counselors as well as the Michigan legislature.
But then came May 1980 and a car accident that left her in a wheelchair, but not idle. She got married, helped raise a stepdaughter, took in her teenage nieces and nephew, and began volunteering for the Meals on Wheels program at God’s Kitchen, a local food pantry.
There she saw the need to feed not only seniors and adults, but also school-age youth triggered by a 2002 phone call from a local school principal to say that students were regularly going into the cafeteria after school in search of food to take home.
With $3,000 and a handful of volunteers, she committed to seeking a solution to childhood hunger in our community and Kids’ Food Basket was founded.
“Many volunteers from God’s Kitchen followed me to KFB,” Mary K. said, and the group began feeding 125 meals a day. “What I didn’t anticipate is how much KFB has grown to increase access to good food for kids.”
The first big growth in 2008 and 2009
“There was a recession and we expanded our services outside GRPS to where there was need. I knew our numbers would increase and we would grow,” she said.
With the growth and recognition of Kids’ Food Basket, Mary K. has gained local, regional and national recognition, including being named one of The Grand Rapids Business Journal 50 Most Influential Women in West Michigan in 2018.
But KFB is and will always be closest to her heart. She is past Chair and current member of the Kids’ Food Basket Board of Directors, and volunteers many hours every week, focusing on fund development and public relations, but also sometimes just working the line putting together “dinner” bags.
That growth has led Kids’ Food Basket to becoming one of the largest non-profits in West Michigan, with staff and leadership carrying it into the future.
“Mary K.’s motto to ‘Do what I can do’ is one of many driving forces behind everything that we have built at Kids’ Food Basket,” Bridget Clark Whitney, President and Founding CEO of Kids’ Food Basket, said to WKTV.
“Food insecurity is a very real concern, and breaking down the barriers to good food access can feel overwhelming. At KFB, we create a space where people can make a real impact, one step at a time. Packing a single Sack Supper is easy, and together across three locations, it adds up to 10,000 healthy evening meals each school day.”
What can you do?
Community volunteering and financial support has been a key factor in the growth and success of Kids’ Food Basket. Many people, it seems, believe in the title of Mary K.’s book — doing “What I Can Do.”
To find out what you can do, visit the Kids’ Food Basket website.
