Community Invited to Pack & Donate 750,000 Meals for People of Haiti

Haiti has long been the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Add to that a 7.0 earthquake in 2010 and the devastation of Hurricane Matthew in 2016, and the country’s situation became even more desperate. However, for the ninth year, Calvary Lutheran Church, Golden Valley, Minn., invites the community to help turn hunger into hope by providing and packing 750,000 meals through a week-long Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) MobilePack™ event. The event will take place Sunday, Jan. 22, through Saturday, Jan. 28, at Calvary, which is located at 7520 Golden Valley Road.

Visit calvary.org/hope or call 763-231-2988 to make a donation and/or to register for a volunteer shift (see schedule online).

Working in two-hour shifts, volunteers will measure ingredients, fill bags, seal bags, pack boxes and stack pallets. Volunteers must be at least age 5, and student groups must follow the appropriate student-to-adult ratios (one to one through grade 2, three to one for grades 3-6, four to one for grades 7-9, five to one for grades 10-12).

The meals will be funded entirely through the financial contributions of individuals, groups and organizations. Donations to Hope for the Hungry are being collected online, on site and by mail (Calvary Lutheran Church, 7520 Golden Valley Road, Golden Valley, MN 55427), with the goal of raising $165,000 (22 cents per meal).

“At least 6,200 children around the world die every day from starvation. It’s a startling statistic that should propel us to take action,” said the Rev. Jeff Krogstad, Calvary’s senior pastor. “That’s where Feed My Starving Children comes in. They help us remember and respond to those who might not be currently making headlines, but are still hurting in significant, even life-threatening, ways.”

MobilePack events enable children and adults across the United States to pack FMSC’s life-giving MannaPack meals. Churches, businesses, community groups and schools across the country have hosted these food-packing events as a way to foster teamwork and unity, while making a real difference in the fight to prevent and reverse malnutrition. FMSC provides guidance and logistics; local donors and volunteers provide funds and labor to pack the meals. FMSC's MannaPack™ Rice meals provide the key nutrients a starving child needs to survive and thrive, and are distributed through various community settings: orphanages, schools, clinics, refugee camps and nutrition programs.

Christian non-profit Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) has tackled world hunger since 1987 by sending volunteer-packed, nutritious meals to 70 countries. These meals are specifically designed to reverse and prevent malnutrition and are used in schools, orphanages, clinics and feeding programs to break the cycle of poverty. In 2015, FMSC welcomed more than 1 million volunteers to pack nearly 273 million meals through its permanent sites and nationwide MobilePack program. The Minnesota-based charity spends more than 90% of total donations directly on feeding the hungry and has earned the highest four-star rating from Charity Navigator for 11 consecutive years. Visit fmsc.org for more information.

The mission of Calvary Lutheran Church is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Established in 1946, Calvary offers five weekly worship services and a wide variety of ministries for children, youth and adults. For more information, call 763-545-5659 or visit calvary.org.

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