This weekend, Feed My Starving Children groups across the country are coming together with a big goal—to pack food for children in need around the world. The spirit of giving was on full display as the Feed the Need! Illinois Mobilepack returned to the Dan and Ada Rice Center at Benedictine University. The Illinois group looked to surpass their goal of packing 10 million meals for those in need.
Volunteers of all ages, from five years old and up, came together, each playing a role in packing meals to feed children around the world.
“We’ve got scoopers that are scooping vitamin powder, dehydrated vegetables, soy, and rice into a funnel,” said Feed the Need! MobilePack chair Matt Hebel. “That funnel then is captured by the folks collecting the food in a bag, then those bags are weighed and sealed, then they’re boxed, then those boxes are palletized, and then they’re sent out and put on a shipping container and sent to destinations around the world to save lives.”
Feed the Need! will feed 2,000 kids a healthy meal a day for a year at the Dan and Ada Rice Center
This year the goal for Feed the Need! is to make over 800,000 meals that will help feed 2,000 children a healthy meal a day for an entire year.
“The manna pack rice meals that are made are scientifically formulated, specifically made for children that are undernourished or malnourished. And rice is a basic meal that is very easy to cook. All you need is some water and some heat. And it can be processed. So it’s a it’s a perfect concoction,” said Hebel
Hebel’s daughter Emerson has volunteered at Feed the Need! for more than a decade, and she is happy to help, knowing everyone has a role to play.
“It just warms my heart so much, knowing that I’m doing something good in the community,” said Hebel. “If you just stand here and look, everyone has a part, so it’s just good to see that you can’t do anything alone, the whole group together makes such a difference, to see all these people that are coming together with one goal, it’s just really cool.”
Volunteers come back year after year to help Feed My Starving Children
The yearly event has seen its numbers grow since the pandemic, and with over a million volunteers last year, Feed the Need! is hoping for more in its fourteenth year.
“As we always say at Feed My Starving Children, we’re feeding people on both sides of the bag”, said MobilePack Development Advisor Dave Gunnlaugsson. “Not only are you feeding people around the world, but I hope that you’re encouraged and you realize how powerful your hands can be and what you can do to serve and bless other people.”
Heidi Vanderbloemen and her son Mark have volunteered every year since moving to Naperville 12 years ago.
“Having done this before in past years with your people, it just makes it so much more exciting,” said Heidi Vanderbloemen. “Like I see big groups of softball teams, (and) other companies, and it’s just really cool to see them in our acts together.”
For Dave Gunnlaugsson, having the chance to personally deliver meals to a mother in Haiti made the mission personal, bringing the impact of their work full circle.
“It’s a life changer for them, for their kids, without any other option. This food may be the very thing to keep their kids alive,” said Gunnlaugsson.
Packing hope for children around the world one bag at a time.
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