Making a difference
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on June 19, 2016 1:45 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Mackenzie Hinson, 12, reacts to the announcement that she is being awarded a $20,000 grant from Tyson to purchase food for the Make a Difference Food Pantry. In addition, Tyson gifted a three-door refrigeration unit to replace the used one that the pantry was using.
Twelve-year-old Mackenzie Hinson has been a hero in Wayne County ever since she started Make A Difference Food Pantry two years ago.
And on Saturday, Tyson Foods recognized her as a hero also.
Tyson gave Mackenzie a brand new, three-door freezer to store her meat and perishable items at her food bank -- and they also gave her a check for $20,000.
It all came as a surprise to Mackenzie at the very end of the First Annual Father's Day Weekend Barbecue Competition Cookoff she hosted at the Wayne County Fairgrounds.
It was a gift given to someone who has given many gifts to those in need.
"I had to give a speech for 4-H, and one of the topics was hunger," Mackenzie said after receiving the donation. "After doing that, I learned that one in three people in Wayne County suffers from hunger, and I wanted to start my own food bank."
Mackenzie said her food bank provides six meals for a family of four when she gives out food once each week, whereas most food pantries give each visitor one meal per visit.
"Whenever somebody comes in, I know them by name by the time they leave," she said.
Mackenzie's father, Michael Hinson, said the surprise gift and donation given to them by Tyson Foods was "awesome."
"I'm absolutely blown away," Hinson said. "I can't believe it."
Mackenzie recently moved her food pantry into a larger space at a strip mall near Grantham Elementary School, and her mother, Paige Hinson, said the $20,000 check would go a long way toward paying the $1,300 per month rent required by the new space.
"That rent is more than our mortgage, and we can't tell you enough how much this is going to help us," Mrs. Hinson said.
Mrs. Hinson said the food pantry has lost as much as 250 pounds of meat due to freezer troubles before and having a new freezer will ensure meat losses are few and far between.
Proteins such as meat, poultry and dairy are the hardest items for a pantry to come by, she said.
"This is unreal," Mrs. Hinson said. "We can't think Tyson enough. They came across the country and showed an interest in a child they knew nothing about so she could continue helping her community."
Mackenzie is only the second "Meals that Matter" hero nationwide to be recognized by Tyson Foods.
Lola Stephens-Bell, of Austin, Texas, received the first Meals that Matter award in January.
Tyson, in addition to the Meals that Matter hero program, has dedicated $50 million to feeding hungry families for the next five years -- an effort they showed at Saturday's event as they provided hamburgers and hot dogs for those that attended the Father's Day weekend cookoff and also provided chicken and ribs for a judged barbecue cookoff competition.
The final gift given to Mackenzie Saturday is something that patrons of her food bank will soon come very familiar with -- a giant spoon.
"It's going on the wall of the food bank," her father said.