A strong commitment to helping the hungry characterizes Cathryn Couch’s career. She served as Director of Communications for The Hunger Project’s United States operations 1987-1991. In 1993, she founded a gourmet organic and vegetarian meal home delivery service. (The Hunger Project is among the 4-star charities Marc Skid supports). In 2007, she launched the Ceres Community Project. The seed that flowered into the Ceres Community Project was planted in 2006. Couch was a chef at a Sonoma County, California retreat center when she found out about a mother with advanced breast cancer. The charitable chef started leaving meals at the family’s home. Soon other needy people asked Couch for help. It was not long before she was assisting 500 families! In 2007, she formalized the program into the Ceres Community Project, a nonprofit dedicated to providing free meals to impoverished people struggling with serious illnesses. Couch points out that good food can play a vital role in a sick person’s recovery. “Up to 80% of cancer patients are malnourished while going through treatment,” Couch observes. Journalist Laura Hilgers reports, “Several studies have shown that well-fed cancer patients typically respond better to treatment.”
A 2014 article for Made Local Magazine described Ceres as “a nonprofit that provides free nutritious meals to those facing debilitating illness while training teens to cook – and eat – well.” The article reported that Ceres makes a special effort to use teenagers as volunteers so they can learn good nutrition and contribute as “volunteer gardeners and chefs” through which they “learn to grow, prepare, and eat healthy organic whole foods” and “understand how their food choices impact their lives, their community, and the planet.”
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought even more food security challenges to the forefront. Reporting for CNN, Laura Klairmont writes, “One of the many ripple effects of the Covid-19 pandemic has been the growing number of people facing food insecurity. Food banks across the United States are not only struggling to keep up with the need, they are also grappling with supply and volunteer shortages.” Couch reveals, “The Covid epidemic has significantly increased the demand for our services.” Klairmont writes that the Ceres Community Project “has more than doubled the number of people it supports. For recipients facing food insecurity, the group has more than tripled the number of weekly meals it provides.”
Marc Skid was formed as a company that would help Feed, Cure, and Save the World. Cathryn Couch’s Ceres Community Project is making a Marc as it Feeds those most in need and, in many cases, contributes to their Curing.
References
“Cathryn Couch.” Ceres Staff.
“Founder and executive director of Ceres Community Project.” Made Local Magazine.
Hilgers, Laura. “Health Hero: Making Meals that Heal.” Oprah.com
Klairmont, Laura. “As food banks struggle to keep up, these CNN Heroes are getting meals to those in need.” CNN.com