Pickleball event at Mall of America raises money to fight child hunger

The rotunda at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, has hosted nearly every type of event over the years, but celebrated a first-of-its-kind event on Saturday.

For nearly 12 hours, competitive pickleball matches filled the rotunda — all to benefit Every Meal, a nonprofit working to fight child hunger by providing Weekend Food Bags to children in need.

Every Meal Founder and President Rob Williams says during Operation Metro Surge, the organization has been stretched thin.

"We've provided almost 40,000 bags of food since January for that specific mission of serving those people at home," Williams said. "That's in addition to the 13,000 kids every week we serve through our weekend meal program, that's giving kids bags of food on Fridays to take home for the weekends."

Williams said Saturday's event served as a way to draw attention to their efforts.

"That's what we're about. Engaging the community to make sure kids in their community have the food they need to learn, grow, thrive and be a part of that community," he said. "I'm seeing people stop and look, and they're wondering – what's this about? They're able to see information about every meal, and learn about, well, they're playing pickleball, but they're doing it because they want to make sure kids have food in their bellies on the weekends."