Two Colleges, Two Coasts, One Cause
Ringling and Miami Dade Colleges Collaborate Coast-to-Coast to end Hunger with Feeding South Florida
Sarasota/Miami, June 1, 2017 – Hunger relief organizations All Faiths Food Bank in Sarasota and Feeding South Florida in Broward County had an opportunity to work together and with college students on the creation of a meme. Miami Dade College students were assigned a two-hour Design4Good Challenge – where design teams go to battle to create impactful design solutions for real clients with real design needs. This event was structured to give the students an intensive professional-world challenge to produce a design or image for a non-profit organization. The winning creations will be shared by Feeding South Florida to help raise awareness and funds to help serve the 784,110 food insecure individuals in South Florida.
Ed Cheetham, Ringling College Motion Design Department Head was invited to Miami Dade College to work with instructor Eric Cornish in guiding the students through the challenge. Cheetham, having established a class video project for All Faiths Food Bank for the past two years, accepted the invitation and brought in Laura Coyle, director of creative services at the Food Bank to act as the “client.”
“Having previously worked with Laura in Sarasota, I knew that she would be the perfect person to help inform, guide, and support the students in their goal to create an image to help raise awareness of food insecurity in South Florida,” said Cheetham. “Students need to recognize the power that they wield as image-makers to incite positive change. Directing their attention and talents towards socially responsible issues is critical to the holistic education and growth of each student.”
Since the students live and work in Feeding South Florida’s service area, Coyle contacted their Communications Coordinator Jennifer Millon to share the exciting news. “As food banks across the nation gear up for feeding children over the summer, this project is a truly a gift,” said Coyle. “Working with the talented students at Ringling College was an honor, and I welcomed the opportunity to work with Miami Dade College students.”
Miami Dade College Professor Eric Cornish coached the students throughout the challenge and the results were several beautiful and impactful designs, and a difficult decision to be made. Based on client input, creativity and the ability to convey a motivational message in one image, two winners were selected:
Monica Platero and Maylin Vasquez came in first place with bright, beautiful sun rays and open hands that represented giving in the sunshine state.
Sebastian Ladino Valderrama created a simple, yet powerful image of happy kids eating. He let All Faiths Food Bank know how he felt about child hunger. “Coming from Colombia, a country that struggles with poverty, I have personally seen the impact of hunger. When I was a kid I saw many friends and family struggle with food cost and availability. Now that I have the wonderful opportunity to work with such a great organization like Feeding South Florida, I wanted to make sure to create a design that reflects the essence of helping others. I believe that the ones who are affected the most by the lack of food are the children. They are our future. No child should ever go hungry because their guardians can’t provide for them. I wanted the design to focus on the happiness that the children radiate when their bellies are full. I also wanted to highlight how simple it is to provide six meals for those who need it the most.”
To see the students’ work, follow Feeding South Florida on Facebook, or visit All Faiths Food Bank’s good deeds blog on their website.
About All Faiths Food Bank
All Faiths Food Bank, awarded a consecutive 4-star rating by Charity Navigator, is a member of Feeding America and the hub of hunger relief in Sarasota and DeSoto counties. Its annual Campaign Against Summer Hunger (April 1-May 15) presents a challenge match to the community with the goal of raising $1.3 million to fund Summer Food Programs that aim to feed the 40,000 children at risk of hunger over the summer months. Last year, All Faiths Food Bank distributed 8.5 million pounds of food equating to 7.1 million meals through 184 pantries, soup kitchens, churches, community centers, schools, and programs. Its mission: Together with our partners, we provide healthy solutions to end hunger in our community. For more information, call 941-379-6333 or visit www.allfaithsfoodbank.org.
About Feeding South Florida®
Feeding South Florida’s mission is to end hunger in South Florida by providing immediate access to nutritious food, leading hunger and poverty advocacy efforts, and transforming lives through innovative programming and education. Feeding South Florida® is the sole Feeding America® food bank in South Florida, and the leading domestic hunger-relief organization in the region, serving 25 percent of the state’s food insecure population. Through a local network of more than 400 nonprofit partner agencies, Feeding South Florida rescues 44 million pounds of food annually, serving 784,110 individuals in need of food assistance, 264,280 of whom are children, and 130,000 are older adults, throughout Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. For more information, visit www.feedingsouthflorida.org or call 954.518.1818.
