On Sept. 9, about 50 volunteers—adults and children—gathered at the office of Hoewisch Family Chiropractic (www.healthdc.com, at 1221 Lafayette St.). The task was to measure and weigh ingredients and assemble meals for Rise Against Hunger (www.riseagainsthunger.org), a non-profit organization with a mission to end world hunger. Donations were also welcome.
“This is all part of celebrating 33 years of my practice here in Santa Clara; this is the only place I’ve ever practiced,” said Dr. David Hoewisch, Doctor of Chiropractic, who has also supported other philanthropy projects. “It feels good to help others. There are about 50 people here volunteering. Some are patients or friends of patients. I also went door to door in the neighborhood to recruit volunteers. I have other chiropractors (Dr. Robert Martines, Dr. Sherri Tomlin, Dr. Julia Lewis and Dr. Ross Tucci) helping here today.”
Each volunteer received a sample meal packet and a $100 gift certificate for future care at Hoewisch Family Chiropractic. Hoewisch described his adjustments as “gentle.” He added that he applies the KST (Koren Specific Technique) to find where to adjust and he removes nerve interference with an instrument.
At 9:30 a.m. volunteers put on gloves and red hair nets and began assembling meals to accompany kits. By 11 a.m. they had packed 10,152 meals to go overseas. Inside each meal kit was a Kraft Heinz vitamin packet, a scoop of soy protein, a scoop of rice and some dried vegetable mix. During the morning, the loud clash of a gong being struck sounded for every thousand new meals packed.
“Each meal kit has six meals inside; they’re all dehydrated so we give instructions on each kit on how to rehydrate the meals for consumption,” said Terry Lewis II, community engagement coordinator for Rise Against Hunger. “The different regions we send the meals to all add local flavors to each kit. We have a warehouse here in Hayward that the meals go to. From there, the meals go to our main warehouse in Los Angeles. [When we have enough to fill a shipping container], we ship them by sea to our partners overseas.”
According to Terry Lewis II, some of Rise Against Hunger’s overseas partners include the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, El Salvador and Nicaragua. The organization has also sent meals to Syrian refugees in Turkey. Seventy-five percent of Rise Against Hunger’s meals go to school feeding programs and food banks overseas.
“We also do disaster relief here in America and abroad,” Terry Lewis II said. “For those affected by Hurricane Harvey, we’ve already sent 45,000 meals. We’re gearing up to send meals to the victims of Hurricane Irma in Florida.”