Yesterday I took my nephews to volunteer at Feed My Starving Children. “It is a non-profit Christian organization committed to feeding God’s hungry children in body and spirit. The approach is simple: children and adults hand-pack meals specifically formulated for malnourished children, and we ship the meals to nearly 70 countries around the world.” Source: http://www.fmsc.org
It is very organized. We start with a video explaining the mission, ask/answer questions, wash hands, and put on hairnets. Then we move to the packing room where we are told what to do. Very simple.
Each bag of food has rice, soy nuggets, dehydrated vegetables, vitamins/minerals and must weigh between 380-400 grams. If it is under we add more rice and if it is over then we remove some rice. When we complete 36 bags, we pack them into a box.
In order for a station to function efficiently there needs to be 6-7 volunteers. Depending on the number of volunteers there may be enough to work at all of the stations. In addition, there are some volunteers that pick up the completed boxes and take them to the packing room. There the boxes are packed in pallets ready for shipment to the various countries. Each shift is 2 hours but with the orientation and cleanup the actual volunteer time is about 1 1/2 hours. However, the time goes by fast because everyone is working fast, singing, and just having a good time.
At the end of the shift we get the opportunity to taste a sample of the food. It is actually pretty good. Also, we are told how many boxes we packed during our shift.
It is a great experience! This is my second time going but I hope to volunteer more often instead of going once a year. My 10 year old nephew has agreed to coming along with me as well.
Just Keep Running!
