Everyone Deserves a Meal

Just when I thought I was too jaded to believe in heroes anymore, along come the good people of the Emergency Feeding Program.  EFP is a Seattle-area nonprofit dedicated to combatting food insecurity, and helping them tell their story has been the high point of my video directing career so far.

Emergency Feeding Program is a non-profit that seems to fly under the radar despite helping so many people over its long history. That's because the organization prefers to work with local partners to distribute food to needy families. These local partners - schools, churches, and other food banks - have no idea where that food actually originated.

This relative anonymity creates a problem when EFP asks donors for money. Sure, they are able to produce data detailing how many meals they've given out or how many families they've fed, but the name recognition just isn't there. This means it's always an uphill battle to ask for money or in-kind contributions from corporations and individuals.

EFP needed help telling their story. They wanted a video that would educate viewers on the profound impact they have on their community. A video they could show to corporate donors that says, "This. This is what we do. And this is why we need your help."

As I learned more about EFP, I realized their biggest differentiator was the people who worked for them, many of whom had experienced food insecurity at some point in their lives. EFP wasn't just a job for them. It was a way of giving back to the community that once helped them.

We decided to make a video that told the EFP's story on two levels. You have the interview voiceover driving one aspect of the story, which is learning about the impact of this organization, how vital and important it is, and how it needs support now more than ever. On the other hand, you have the b-roll, the visual aspect of the story, which shows people giving it their all as they assemble boxes of food in a warehouse. And the effect is to give this organization a purpose (to feed their community), a personality (the workers who are giving it their all), and a need (they can't keep doing this without your help).

EFP has been extremely happy with the resulting video. Belynda, EFP Executive Director, said, "R2A Media created an impactful video campaign that told compelling stories from our beneficiaries, which increased our donations by 30%."

This was an incredible project to be part of, and we are grateful to Belynda and the EFP for letting us be part of their solution.