Food donation themed miniature golf on MLK Day
By Nicholas Bainbridge// News Editor
Martin Luther King Jr.’s actions during the Civil Rights movement have been an inspiration for many Americans to contribute to the wellbeing of their community. In honor of the reverend, High Point University staff and students shift their focus from their studies to volunteering opportunities.
Members of HPU’s Americorps Vista Program decided to tackle the issue of food insecurity in the High Point area, and collected donations which they directed towards local shelters. To draw attention to the program and get their peers to consider donating, members of the HPU Americorps Vista program constructed a miniature golf course out of cans, boxes and bags of food donated by Food Lion.
“We wanted to focus on educating people about the issue, as we think Dr. King would appreciate that,” explained Meredith Kreger, one of the volunteers who set up and hosted the course.
Each segment of the golf course featured a note telling players about one aspect of food insecurity in the local area, bringing to light critical information so that people will understand the scope of the issue.
Handouts and posters were not the only way that players were informed of the issues and obstacles surrounding food poverty. Before handing out clubs and balls, the event hosts spoke directly to the attendees about how important it was to donate during this particular time of the year.
“At the beginning there was a speech about food insecurity and how the government shutdown was limiting aid, so donations are really important because they can help people a lot right now,” commented Kenedy Robinson, a student who was present for the start of the event.
According to the Greater High Point food alliance, High Point is the city with the 14th highest rate of food hardship at approximately 19%, meaning that a substantial portion of the population has had insufficient funds to purchase food for themselves and their families.
While government aid does help some people who are struggling to gain access to the food they require, it is sometimes insufficient. Furthermore, a third of those struggling with food hardship do not qualify for government aid. Instead, they have to rely on charitable organizations like West End Ministries and the Triad Health Project, to distribute donations to them. These organizations each had a hole in the course representing them, each of which was constructed out of food donations which were later sent to them.
Each hole had a distinct design, with some emphasizing changes in elevation that force players to change the amount of force they use, or a multitude of obstacles that inhibit direct progression and instead require players to bounce their balls at precise angles to minimize their turn count.
These holes were well received by players, with many expressing appreciation for the efforts of the designers and the concept of a golf course to spread a message as a whole.
“I think it’s extremely creative how they designed the course with ingenuity,” remarked HPU student Spencer Goddard upon completing the course. It will certainly raise awareness for food hardship.”
It was also of interest to many that the course was made out of the donations themselves, which drew more attention the humanitarian efforts.
“It’s a lot of fun, and people are seeing the food it took to make the course and understand all the families that it can feed,” commented Brianna Smally, a student who played several holes with her friends.
The golf course was dismantled by the evening of Martin Luther King Day, and its components shipped to their respective charitable organizations.
There were a myriad of different holes designe by students for the miniature golf course pictured aboveby HPU.
Photos by Nicholas Bainbridge