By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

AS THE executive director of Hands For Hunger (H4H),

Zeleka Knowles’ day starts off with her sitting behind a desk in a comfortable chair. However, with a job as unpredictable as the one she has, it can end with her filling in for a driver of the H4H food truck and distributing food to various agencies.

Being a part of the effort to help bring an end to hunger in the Bahamas is what makes those unpredictable days that sometimes take Mrs Knowles way off her schedule very rewarding. It is an honour, she said.

H4H is a local charity committed to the elimination of hunger and food waste. Currently in its seventh year of operation, H4H has provided more than 700,000 pounds of fresh, prepared food to those most in need through its food rescue and distribution programme. Its partnering social service agencies serve roughly 10,000 meals to those most in need of emergency food assistance.

To meet the growing need of the estimated 43,000 Bahamians facing chronic hunger and food insecurity, H4H relies on the generosity of individual and corporate donations and volunteer assistance to fulfil its mission.

Mrs Knowles has served as the executive director of H4H since last October. Her duties range from representing the organisation in a formal capacity, to developing new initiatives and managing day-to-day office activities.

“What I love most about being a part of such a dynamic organisation is how unpredictable my day can be. My first day with Hands For Hunger we received a phone call to rescue six pallets of food from a local wholesale distributor and our driver had taken the day off. I spent that day on the truck distributing food to our recipient agencies. Days like that are humbling, they remind me that my job extends much further than a desk and chair, and to be prepared and always ready to accommodate our generous donors and to serve our appreciative recipient agencies,” she told Tribune Woman.

“I am passionate about finding creative ways to solve complex problems, and that’s what drew me to Hands For Hunger. We waste a third of the food produced on this planet; a lot of it gets thrown away after it reaches the supermarket, kitchens and households. A solution as simple as founding an organisation that focuses on rescuing food that would have otherwise gone to waste and redistributing it to people in need is simple and it’s creative and it’s effective.”

There are several plans that Mrs Knowles said she hopes to put into action in the upcoming months.

“Many of them were ideas the organisation had before I joined, that I am eager to implement. One that comes to mind is an Urban Farming initiative that we are in the process of designing, but essentially it will allow us to develop small-scale urban farms around the island in a way that would engage young people and will contribute to the well-being of their communities. We are hoping to design a safe and creative space where people can learn and explore nutritious eating habits. It’s an exciting concept and one I hope to bring to fruition,” she said.

Prior to working for H4H, Mrs Knowles, who is originally from Ethiopia, worked at the Bahamas Ministry of Health, the United Nations World Health Organisation and the Clinton Foundation. Most recently, in her role at the Ministry of Health, she managed the PEPFAR/CDC HIV Prevention and Community Outreach Unit, targeting and educating all high-risk populations infected and affected by HIV/AIDS within the country.

“I am proud to work for an organisation that is relatively young but has accomplished so much in its seven years of operation. Unfortunately, the statistics surrounding hunger in the Bahamas indicate that 43,000 persons face chronic hunger on a daily basis, so while Hands For Hunger has made a lot of progress to date, there is still so much more to do. My aim is to raise enough money and strategically manage our operational plan such that we can inch our way closer to a transformed Bahamas where everyone has access to three nutritious and fortifying meals each day,” she said.