A couple from Plano saw the need to fight hunger in North Texas, and their rallying cry “Hunger Mitao” is now mobilizing others to do something right as well.

“It’s not an effort of Raj and Anna. It’s a whole American Indian community committed to the spirit of giving where you live and making a difference,” said Raj Asava speaking. of the mission of feeding people.

He and his wife, Anna Asava, left the corporate world several years ago and are now focusing their energy on a national grassroots movement they started called “Hunger Mitao,” or End Hunger.

“For some reason we always thought the needs were greatest in emerging countries, third world countries. Obviously America, the land of milk and honey and plenty could not not be a country where needs are as basic as hunger, ”said Raj Asava. . “About six years ago, we learned about the hunger problem right here in North Texas. When we discovered that 800,000 people in North Texas did not know where their next meal would come from, Anna and I said, we need to do something about And that’s how we started Hunger Mitao.

This is the name you will see on one of the trucks that North Texas Food Ban in Plano uses to collect and donate food. The opportunity to co-brand is a pledge of $ 150,000, but Raj Asava says the American Indian community has grown stronger.

“The truck came up and everyone got goosebumps because they saw their effort. It was so tangible. It was right in front of them, like oh, wow. We made it possible,” he said. declared Anna Asava.

Over the past weekend, Hunger Mitao, Sewa Dewali and more than 80 local organizations stepped up their work again by donating enough food for more than 50,000 meals for North Texans.

“We created Hunger Mitao to be a movement. It is a movement that advances thanks to volunteers and that sensitizes the American Indian community to the need for them to get involved,” said Anna Asava.

The Hunger Mital model has been adopted by Feeding America and other food banks across the country. What started at the North Texas Food Bank now exists at the Tarrant Area Food Bank and in Atlanta, Houston, Michigan, New York City, Seattle with New Jersey in line next.

“Four years after the launch of Hunger Mitao, we have already crossed 40 million meals that we have made possible across the country; 12 million meals right here in North Texas, ”said Raj Asava.

The Asavas are putting into practice a lesson heard years ago by a scholar in India. Life is lived in three stages: learn, earn and come back.

“With that in mind, Anna and I both felt that we were in the return phase. It’s not just about funds. It’s about making our experiences, our learning, our connections, our network to the well-being of the next generation, ”said Raj Asava. .

Last year, the Asavas pledged $ 1 million to Feeding America, the nation’s largest anti-hunger organization.