I took Mitchell(11) and Alexis(8) to an event today that was put together by an amazing young woman that we know from church. It was a "mobile pack" event for a Christian charity called "Feed my Starving Children." Please check out this amazing organization at FMSC.org. The idea is that as person or group raises money and recruits volunteers and then FMSC workers bring a tractor trailer truck full of supplies to a location where all the volunteers scoop, pour, bag, weigh, seal, and pack a specially formulated mix of rice, dried vegetables, powdered chicken flavor, and soy protein. The organization then takes the prepared boxes to a distribution center and sends the meals to missionaries all over the world to distribute to starving children.
The children and I spent just over 2 ours helping on our "shift" today. Aside from the births of my own children, it may have been the most meaningful 2 hours I've ever spent doing anything.
Here is what we learned today:
- 18,000 children die around the world every day because they do not have a reliable food source
- FMSC has over a 99% delivery rate on the food packs that they ship
- through FMSC a meal for a child costs about $0.23
- in the 2 hours that the children and I were there we, along with the other volunteers, packed 170 boxes of food. Each box holds 36 bags, and each bag provides 6 meals, that's 36,720 meals, or enough food to feed 100 children one meal per day for a year
- over the course of the day volunteers at this one event packed over 101,000 meals
- FMSC is FDA regulated and adheres to food safety policies such as hair nets, hand washing, and food handlers wearing gloves
- children as young as 5 are able to help at "mobile pack" events
Here is what my children took away from today:
- we have a lot of food here in the US
- we don't have to eat mud
- it was really fun
- we helped 100 children today
- teamwork and cooperation get a lot accomplished in a little time
- 2 hours is not that long
- helping others can be fun and makes you feel good
- we CAN help, we can make a difference
Here is what I learned about my children:
- they have really good hearts
- they are capable of doing good for the world, even though they are young
- they are strong
- they are learning compassion
- they did not complain once that the work was too hard, too boring, or that they were too tired
- they smiled the whole time
At the end of our packing shift, the group was asked to pray over the boxes of food. Alexis volunteered to lead the prayer. I will admit to being a bit surprised, but she spoke the prayer in front of nearly 100 people, and thanked God for the volunteers, the food for the starving children, and the chance to help. Amazing.
The children and I spent just over 2 ours helping on our "shift" today. Aside from the births of my own children, it may have been the most meaningful 2 hours I've ever spent doing anything.
Here is what we learned today:
- 18,000 children die around the world every day because they do not have a reliable food source
- FMSC has over a 99% delivery rate on the food packs that they ship
- through FMSC a meal for a child costs about $0.23
- in the 2 hours that the children and I were there we, along with the other volunteers, packed 170 boxes of food. Each box holds 36 bags, and each bag provides 6 meals, that's 36,720 meals, or enough food to feed 100 children one meal per day for a year
- over the course of the day volunteers at this one event packed over 101,000 meals
- FMSC is FDA regulated and adheres to food safety policies such as hair nets, hand washing, and food handlers wearing gloves
- children as young as 5 are able to help at "mobile pack" events
Here is what my children took away from today:
- we have a lot of food here in the US
- we don't have to eat mud
- it was really fun
- we helped 100 children today
- teamwork and cooperation get a lot accomplished in a little time
- 2 hours is not that long
- helping others can be fun and makes you feel good
- we CAN help, we can make a difference
Here is what I learned about my children:
- they have really good hearts
- they are capable of doing good for the world, even though they are young
- they are strong
- they are learning compassion
- they did not complain once that the work was too hard, too boring, or that they were too tired
- they smiled the whole time
At the end of our packing shift, the group was asked to pray over the boxes of food. Alexis volunteered to lead the prayer. I will admit to being a bit surprised, but she spoke the prayer in front of nearly 100 people, and thanked God for the volunteers, the food for the starving children, and the chance to help. Amazing.
