Last month I did an entry talking about how our church was going to be working with Stop Hunger Now, an international relief agency that distributes food and other essential goods throughout the world. Well last night was our meal packaging event and it was AWESOME. Sixty-two people from our church and from First United Methodist Church in Ogden, Utah turned out to package, and in about 1 hour and 15 minutes, we packaged enough meals to feed as many as 10,800 kids.
Why is this important? According to the rep from Stop Hunger Now, there are about 7 billion people in the world. About 1 billion of these folks live on less than $1.25 per day. Of that 1 billion, around 25,000 die everyday from hunger related issues. Of those, around 11,000 are children under the age of ten, children that never had a chance.
It's tempting to just throw up your hands and say that there's just not enough food to feed 7 billion people. However, according to Stop Hunger Now, that's just not the case. There is enough food in the world to feed every single person over 4 pounds of food per day for the rest of their lives. FOUR POUNDS. As our rep mentioned, that's like eating 17 quarter pounders from McDonalds everyday.
So the problem isn't the amount of food, it's access to the food. This is where organizations like Stop Hunger Now come in, by bringing the food to the people who need it most. They distribute aid to 65 countries around the world. She said she didn't know exactly where the meals that we packaged would be going yet, but she suspected perhaps Haiti. When they do know where they'll be going, she'll let Pastor Gary know.
The meals, all boxed up, ready to go.
The process that we used to put these meals together was pretty cool. Six tables were set up with four stations and a big funnel. First the "funnel captain" attached a meal bag to the bottom of the funnel. Once that was done, a packet of essential vitamins was put into the funnel. This combination of vitamins was prepared by North Carolina State University to supply malnourished kids with what they need most. After the vitamins, next came a level cup of soy. That was my job, and man, I've never seen (or smelled) so much soy! Next into the funnel was a heaping scoop of dehydrated vegetables, followed by a level cup of rice. Once the rice was in, the funnel captain removed the bag and gave it to a runner, who took it over to another person, who weighed it and sealed it, before sending it off to be boxed. The end result is a fortified meal product, When the meals get to their destination, the people who prepare them open the bags, put in the vitamin packets, and add locally available protein sources to complete the meal.
Short video showing some of our church members in the packaging process.
After all was said and done they cooked up some of the meal product for us to try. Now I'm not a big fan of soy or rice, and was fully expecting to turn my nose up when I tasted it. I was pleasantly surprised though! It kind of tasted like Chicken Rica-a-roni. Depending on what protein products they put in it, it can have a different flavor I guess.
We all had to wear hairnets and gloves.
The hardest working man on the night was probably Pastor Gary, who spent his evening running from table to table lugging HUGE bags of rice and soy to fill up the stations when they got low. We talked to the rep for a few minutes after and she said that it was one of the quickest sessions she had done. We probably could have packaged even more meals, but we actually ran out of product on hand! It was impressive.
In the end it was awesome to be a part of something bigger than myself, and to see so many others involved as well! Everyone had a job to do and everyone enjoyed it. We even had older folks helping package and kids (who couldn't actually touch the food) helping box the meals and distribute supplies. It was a perfect picture of a community working together to help others in the name of Jesus.
Of course, you don't have to be religious to help others on this or any issue. Stop Hunger Now isn't a religious organization. They don't just work with churches, but with businesses, colleges, and civic groups all over the country to package meals and collect supplies. You can learn more about them at their website. Check them out and consider being a part of their work, It's greatly rewarding. Also, remember that hunger isn't something that's defeated with 1 meal packaging event and isn't just a problem in foreign countries. Please join me in considering how you can help hungry people in your area by working with local food banks and soup kitchens.
Thanks for reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment