In honor of Harvest Month, the First Presbyterian Church in Mineola will be hosting a food-packing event, feeding hungry children worldwide.
Participants will get “hands-on” at the event — which is in conjunction with the group Rise Against Hunger — on Oct. 12. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., attendees will package meals to help end hunger. These meals will feed hungry children and families from the Philippines, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya.
“Rise Against Hunger works in countries worldwide to fight hunger, targeting communities facing high rates of food insecurity,” according to RiseAgainstHunger.org. “We provide volunteer-packaged meals and other assistance, often through school feeding programs, to support nutrition, education and health for children and families facing hunger right now.”
About 733 million people worldwide do not receive enough nutrition to lead an active, healthy life or provide for themselves and their families. Rise Against Hunger works with communities across the world to end hunger in remote, last-mile communities. Rise Against Hunger is growing a global movement to end hunger by nourishing lives, empowering communities and responding to emergencies.
“In the morning, from 8 to 10, there is a whole bunch of people and the local Boy Scouts that signed up and we are calling them the alpha team and they’re going to be setting up all the materials when the truck arrives early in the morning,” Selwyn Lee, organizer of the event, said.
At 10 a.m., Rise Against Hunger will send Anthony Vaber, an expert event facilitator, to manage the event and provide hunger education to the group. The facilitator will also assist the church in setting up the materials to be packaged. These include rice, soy, dehydrated vegetables, and a packet of 20 vitamins and minerals, which store easily, transport quickly and have a long shelf life.
“It’s going to be a fun event,” Lee said. “ My pastor, Chet Easton, will start the event by blowing the shofar.”
Lee said Mary Ann Gustafson will help the volunteers in the morning, and Chet’s wife, Dottie, will provide food for them.
Some 25,056 meal packets were packed into 36 boxes and will be combined in 693 boxes will be shipped. Lee said there will be two other churches helping, but the one in Mineola will be taking the lead on this event.
“We’re unifying our church for an outreach mission and the cause is very dear to me,” Lee said. “No kids should be left hungry.”
Lee said he heard a story about a kid saying to another kid that it was not his day to eat, which inspired him to organize this event. He said no child should be worried about not having enough food to eat.
Lee said apage, Greek word for sacrificial love, is caring for others with unconditional love and action. He is asking the public to follow apage and help feed others.
This event is open to the entire public. Lee said some local elected officials might also be in attendance to give a pep talk
“Your partnership supports the distribution of nutritious meals and provides sustainable, long-term solutions ensuring food and nutrition security in the communities we serve globally,” RiseAgainstHunger said.
To register for the event, visit TinyURL.com/3b874r4r.
