Fitness Guru Gives Back With Food Donations

Tyler Kemplin got into personal training and nutrition after his mother and a close friend both passed away due to health issues. He posted some photos of his meal prepping on social media, and people began asking about purchasing meals from him. In an instant, Pulse Fitness & Nutrition in Cape Girardeau was formed.

“I wanted to help others get their eating and fitness on track,” he said.

Because he sometimes has excess meals, Kemplin found Southeast Missouri Food Bank through a Google search and reached out about donating meals.

“I’d rather give what I had before I throw it away,” he said.

Tara Guzman, resource acquisition specialist at the food bank, put Kemplin in touch with member food pantries in the Cape Girardeau area.

“Tara’s really nice and told me about the places up here that I could donate to,” Kemplin said. “I called (Salvation Army) and went down the next day to donate. It was an extremely easy process.”

“We love that Tyler reached out, and we really appreciate his generous spirit,” Guzman said. “People may not think about food banks in this way, but food rescue is a really important part of our operation. We don’t want food to go to waste when we know we have so many families facing hunger in southeast Missouri. We work hard to pair potential food donors with our member agencies so we can help as many families as possible.”

Kemplin goes out of his way to give back to the community. He has cooked Thanksgiving turkeys and made meals to give to the firefighters and police officers at the Jackson Fire & Police Departments.

“I like to give back and make sure the food doesn’t get wasted. If there are events or charities, I try to donate to them,” he said. “I’ve had lots of friends that have had family members that are in the hospital or homebound that I try to donate food to as well.”

For more information about food rescue service, contact Guzman at 573-471-1818 or tmcguire@semofoodbank.org.