Donations sought for meal-packing event

Local volunteers packing meals at KWU in January 2016. *Photos courtesy Linda Ourada*

Hundreds of community members are anticipated to come together in January to help fight world hunger.

The second Salina Community Area MobilePack event for Feed My Starving Children is scheduled for January 20-21, 2019, at Trinity United Methodist Church, 901 Neal Ave. The first was conducted at Kansas Wesleyan University in 2016.

Feed My Starving Children is a Christian nonprofit organization dedicated to providing nutritious meals to children worldwide. The meals are hand-packed by volunteers and sent to a network of partner organizations that distribute the meals to those in need. Nearly 1.2 million volunteers packed more than 333 million meals in 2017, according to information from Feed My Starving Children.

According to the organization, because at least 6,200 children around the world die from starvation every day, the Salina group plans to pack 100,000 Feed My Starving Children MannaPack meals to help feed children in need.

Ingredients for the meal packs are delivered in large bulk bags.

The estimated cost of the endeavor is approximately $22,000 or 22 cents per meal. The organization is seeking donations to cover the cost of the meal ingredients: rice, soy, dehydrated vegetables, and an essential blend of vitamins and nutrients.

Tax-deductible donations may be made online at give.fmsc.org/salina or checks may be mailed to:

Feed My Starving Children
ATTN: Carrie Wiggins
555 Exchange Court
Aurora, IL 60504

Persons donating by check are asked to put “#1901-219EA” on the memo line of the check so that the local project will get credit for the donations.

As the January date gets closer, local organizers will announce how those interested may volunteer to pack meals. Persons age 5 and older are allowed to pack.

For more information about the event, contact Linda Ourada at 785-452-9638.