By Lauren Holloway

On Thursday July 2nd, Miwako Felix gave us a presentation on Table for Two and their social action initiative called #OnigiriAction. Table for Two is a non-profit organization that started in the USA back in 2010. They started this organization because out of 8 billion people, 750 million suffer from hunger. Onigiri Action is an activity that takes place in the fall each year. If you post a picture of your onigiri (Japanese rice ball) or anything related to onigiri on any social media site (like TikTok or Instagram) between specified dates in October and November, then their partners will donate 5 free school meals to be delivered to kids around the world in need of healthy meals. Last year photos were posted from 47 countries around the world while 233,321 photos were taken and 1,166,605 meals were delivered around the world to kids in need. It is so important that kids around the world are getting healthy and nutritious school meals, because not only does having a good school lunch improve students’ well-being and work ethic, it also improves attendance. Since the launch of Onigiri Action USA in 2016, the campaign has provided 10 million school meals to kids around the world.

Table for Two also goes around to different schools in the U.S. and internationally to do a bento box workshop which we got to experience also. During the workshop we were able to learn how to make onigiri. It is surprisingly easy and simple. Learning about this campaign was amazing, since it’s so simple and easy to be a part of if you don’t have money to donate, or if you’re too busy to volunteer anywhere. A few things I found surprising was that they post recipes and videos on their website on how to make it so that you don’t have to experiment or search up how to make it yourself. Another thing is so many people have participated which is more than I thought would have participated, and that this initiative doesn’t just benefit people struggling with hunger only in Japan. Onigiri Action helps people struggling with hunger in the United States and Africa.