CLEVELAND, OH — Pass the Love with Waffles + Mochi is a campaign to help families in need face hunger by distributing healthy ingredients and showing them how to eat healthy for a lifetime. It is a nationwide campaign that started on June 1 in Cleveland and aired on local television news cameras on Tuesday at Andrew J. Rickoff School, one of nine food distribution sites.
The Cleveland Metropolitan School District works together with the Partnership for a Healthier America and former First Lady Michelle Obama, as the honorary campaign chair. They will also help pass out free boxes that contain ingredients and recipes for making affordable, nutritious meals.
Furthermore, Pass the Love with Waffles + Mochi is calling attention to the need for equitable access to healthy food. The campaign will cover at least five cities and distribute a total of 1 million meals.
Several speakers including Eric Gordon as the CEO of CMSD, Diane Davet, director of programs for the Greater Cleveland Foodbank, and Chris Burkhardt, CMSD's executive director of school nutrition conveyed that there is a high level of need in Cleveland.
The free meal boxes include fresh ingredients and healthy recipes that are inspired by the new Netflix series, "Waffles + Mochi", which the former first lady stars in and serves as executive producer. The series follows two puppets as they explore the world, learning about food culture and cooking with healthy ingredients.
For more information about the Cleveland portion of the campaign, you can visit https://www.clevelandmetroschools.org/nutrition