Wednesday, May 17, Mount Olive’s Mackenzie ‘Kenzie’ Hinson flies with the U.S. Navy’s esteemed flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels, after being named a Hometown Hero. The flight was piloted by Lieutenant Commander Thomas Zimmerman.(Kenzie Hinson|Courtesy photo)
This large batch of fresh produce, being loaded by Kenzie Hinson, will help provide many meals at the Make a Difference Food Pantry in Mount Olive.(Kenzie Hinson|Courtesy photo)
Kenzie Hinson stands with Fire Chief Sean Quimby, who nominated her for the Hometown Hero award.(Craig Ladd|Courtesy photo)
Working the meal prep line is one of many jobs Kenzie Hinson takes on at the Make a Difference Food Pantry located on Breazeale Avenue in Mount Olive.(Kenzie Hinson|Courtesy photo)
The Blue Angels’ Lieutenant Commander Thomas Zimmerman, who piloted Kenzie Hinson’s Hometown Hero flight, presents her with a memento of the day.(Craig Ladd|Courtesy photo)
Saturday, May 20, after passing her EMT State Board exams, Kenzie Hinson rushes to the Make a Difference Food Pantry to help unload a truck.(Kenzie Hinson|Courtesy photo)
On May 17, 18-year-old Mackenzie “Kenzie” Hinson took to the skies in an F/A-18 Super Hornet, described by military.com as “the U.S. Navy’s primary strike and air superiority aircraft.” Far from being part of a combat mission, Kenzie was onboard as an honored guest of the Navy’s esteemed flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels, having been selected as a Hometown Hero. The flight took place at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and was piloted by Lt. Commander Thomas Zimmerman.
That Kenzie (who has turned 19 since the flight) garnered the honor will come as no surprise to those who know the Wayne County native: She is the founder and force of nature behind the Make a Difference (MAD) Food Pantry, located at 922 N. Breazeale Ave. in Mount Olive.
As impressive as it is to see a teen at the helm of a food pantry, it’s all the more impressive when you learn that she started the pantry in 2015 at the age of 10. Researching food insecurity for a 4-H speech, she volunteered at several food pantries and recalls, “I watched people dig through food boxes for what was ‘salvageable’ to take to their families.” This led her to want to offer people “a more ‘personable’ and welcoming solution,” so she designed what she calls a “shopping experience” pantry, which has become so successful that she says it serves as a model for others.
And Kenzie didn’t stop with opening “just” a food pantry, although that, in itself, would have been quite a feat. The MAD Food Pantry has grown to include outreach pantries in several nearby counties, mobile food programs for seniors and kids, a clothes “boutique,” and disaster relief capabilities that have been put to use not just in North Carolina, but in other states, as well (for example, in Texas following Hurricane Harvey and in Tennessee following severe flooding). The MAD organization also collaborates with 38 other organizations to provide food resources across the state.
Kenzie describes a typical experience at the MAD Food Pantry this way: “Our clients select food from our bread, produce, meat, fruit and breakfast rooms. Kids enjoy their own room with snacks, a bag just for them, [they] make a craft and enjoy ‘story-time.’ In addition, we provide hot meals and homemade cupcakes as [clients] leave. We have a fresh tea and water bar as they enter. Our volunteers load their cars for them…We have tried to cover every detail to meet people’s needs with love and compassion.”
When ticking off the list of the MAD Food Pantry’s accomplishments, Kenzie never speaks in terms of what she has achieved. Instead, she uses words like “we” and “together” and “family.” And by “family,” she isn’t referring only to her parents, Michael and Paige Hinson, who have been central to helping and supporting her, but also to a cadre of volunteers, who have become extended family and without whom none of this would be possible, she stresses.
What she and her team have achieved is nothing short of mind-boggling: To date, she reports, “we have provided 10,467,291 meals… Why? It’s what we do — TOGETHER.”
Kenzie says that one of the lessons she’s learned is that oftentimes organizations seem to be in competition with one another; it’s a lesson she hopes to rewrite. “I hope we have shown through our network of 38 organizations, teamwork works every time…I hope my team and I have proven that anything is possible when you work together and it’s never a competition, except within yourself to be better today than yesterday.”
In addition to her volunteerism, Kenzie works fulltime as an EKG Technician and plans a career in Disaster Management. She is currently a student at UNC-Greensboro and Wayne Community College. She recently completed her EMT training and passed her State Board exam, and will proceed to the Paramedic program in January.
Perhaps no surprise, Kenzie’s recent Hometown Hero designation is just the latest in a long string of honors she has received over the years, including: being named a Tyson Foods “Meals That Matter” Hero, winning the Dale Earnhardt Foundation’s Legend Leadership Award, being recognized by Governor Roy Cooper in his 2017 State of the State Address, and winning a $20,000 scholarship as a Coca-Cola Scholar.
But Kenzie insists that being selected for the Blue Angels flight is “the most humbling of them all. To be recognized by ‘true heroes’ is beyond describable.” As for the flight itself, she says, it “was nothing short of amazing!”
While Kenzie’s success (especially at such a young age) makes one wonder how on earth she’s done it all, she manages to make it sound pretty straightforward: “My family has always taught me the importance of hard work, standing on your word and letting God lead your way. I pray I inspire others to give what you can, share your talents and simply BE KIND in a world that desperately needs it.”
To learn more about Kenzie’s efforts and to see how you can become involved, call 919-330-8202, go to the Make a Difference Food Pantry Facebook page, or go to madpantry.org.
(Note: Most of the interviews for this story were conducted via email and text, so any time Kenzie’s words appear capitalized, the emphasis is hers, not that of the reporter.)
