Hilmar Covenant Church associate pastor Dan Johnson believes that it only takes two hours for volunteers to make a huge impact to malnourished children throughout the world.
At the fourth “Feed My Starving Children” MobilePack event, Hilmar Covenant Church is collaborating with three Covenant churches in Ripon, Modesto, and Patterson to pack two shipping containers with over 544,000 meals.
“We originally got the idea from a national covenant youth convention we attended,” said Johnson. “’Feed My Starving Children’ was there and we were blown away by how fun it was. It was a great way to feed hungry kids in a simple way.”
According to Johnson, in their first year participating, the church was able to pack over 300,000 meals, or MannaPacks — approximately 100,000 over their original goal.
Going into its fourth year, the church has been busy since July raising funds and recruiting volunteers for the February event. Johnson reports that he has also spoken at many schools, churches, and other organizations about the cause.
“We hope to pack 50,000 meals each session over 11 sessions,” reported Johnson. “Our goal of 544,000 meals will give over 1,500 kids a meal every day for an entire year.”
For the MobilePack event, FMST will provide the ingredients for the MannaPacks. These ingredients are formulated from a special combination of items, including a powdered chicken-flavored mixture of vitamins and minerals, dehydrated vegetables, extruded soy nuggets for protein, and rice for carbohydrates.
“All they have to do is mix their MannaPacks with boiling water. It’s just like a rice dish you would make for your family,” said Johnson. “There are six meals in one MannaPack, so you can give six kids a meal.”
FMST is a non-profit Christian organization that aims to provide volunteer-packed meals to an estimated 70 countries throughout the world. According to FMST, MannaPacks not only save the lives of malnourished and starving children, it also improves their health, growth, and physical wellbeing.
Those interested in volunteering are encouraged to call 668-0400. To view the different packing shifts on Friday Saturday, and Sunday, visit hilmarcovenant.org. Each session lasts two hours and will take place at the Hilmar Covenant Church gymnasium, 20056 American Ave.
