John Poston founded Kids Against Hunger Brainerd Lakes in 2012.  John was volunteering with Minnesota Adult & Teen Challenge (MNTC), driving van loads of MNTC participants from Brainerd, MN to Coon Rapids, MN to serve at Feed My Starving Children.  After several road trips, John had a vision to create something similar in the Brainerd Lakes Area.

The mission of Kids Against Hunger Brainerd Lakes was to feed children in third world countries that were starving.  We offered 1 meal type that was a rice/veggie mix.  As the charity grew, we started to realize that not only did people have food insecurity across the sea, it was also a problem right here at home.

In 2019, the charity re-branded to The Outreach Program of Brainerd Lakes. The mission and vision changed with the re-brand.  Our mission today is focused on feeding families and enriching lives.  Our vision is that 80-90% of the meals we package and distribute will remain in Minnesota; with the remaining 10-20% being used for disaster relief and/or international distribution.  We have grown our meal types from 1 to 10 different meals.