The Outreach Program

Mission: To address food insecurity and to empower people and communities.

A small seed was planted in the hearts of The Outreach Program founders, Floyd Hammer and Kathy Hamilton, on their trip to Nkungi, Tanzania in 2004. At the time, Floyd planned to help convert a leprosy hospital into an AIDS hospice center while Kathy planned to volunteer at a local hospital. Within the first few days of their trip, five children had died of starvation and malnutrition. And their plans changed; the seed grew.However, Floyd and Kathy knew that to truly make a lasting difference in Nkungi, they would need to build up the entire community.After meeting with local villagers and tribal leaders to determine the most critical needs, four themes emerged. These themes became our Four Promises: feed the hungry, clean water, medical care, and education.Nearly twenty years later, that small seed has grown into The Outreach Program. What was once a small seed to impact a community has flourished and now provides these four critical needs to thousands throughout Tanzania and the United States.

Based in Union and Des Moines, IA, Outreach Program is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation that organizes food packaging events around the country. With more than 300 million meals packaged to date, the organizations mission is to provide food, safe water, education, and medical care to those in need at home and abroad.