Church seeks help in fight against worldwide hunger
Published 7:00 am Thursday, November 26, 2015
SPREADING CHARITY: Last year, volunteers prepare food items at the church to be shipped to people in need. Submitted photo.
For the third year in a row, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church is hosting a Stop Hunger Now Packaging event on Dec. 2 in order to help end global hunger.
Susan Burns, the church’s vestry member, said they’re currently looking for volunteers of all ages to help measure, package and seal meals to be shipped to areas devastated by natural disasters, famine or conflict.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to be part of a global solution. Hunger is a terrible problem in so many areas of the world,” Burns said.
Stop Hunger Now is an international hunger relief organization that seeks to diminish global hunger by partnering with local volunteers.
According to a press release from the church, the organization’s mission is, “To end hunger in our lifetime by providing food and life-saving aid to the world’s most vulnerable people and by creating a global commitment to mobilize the necessary resources.”
Stop Hunger Now offers 70 percent of its meals to support transformational development programs such as medical clinics and orphanages. The organization reserves 10 percent of the meals packaged to send to countries stricken with natural disaster or famine such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake and the Syrian conflict. The organization began in 1998 and started its meal-packaging program in 2005, according to the release.
The assembly process combines soy, dehydrated vegetables, rice and a flavoring mix that includes vitamins and minerals. Each meal costs 29 cents, Burns said.
Last year, volunteers from St. Paul’s and other community members assembled dried meals to be sent to the Philippines following a natural disaster. This year, Burns said they hope to raise $2,900 and package 10,000 meals to send to a country in need.
“We’ve met our goals both years so we hope to do so again,” Burns said.
The church is accepting monetary donations, which can be made at the event or via the church’s website at www.stpaulspicayune.dioms.org.
For more information about the event, contact church staff at 601-798-2802.
The church is located at 1421 Goodyear Blvd.
