Volunteers to pack 700,000 meals for starving children

Starting Friday, thousands will gather at Osage Centre with one goal in mind: to help feed starving children across the globe.

Volunteers will pack and label boxes with dry food ingredients that will be shipped and delivered to children by the Feed My Starving Children Organization.

This is the fifth year La Croix Church has hosted the food-packing event, and according to organizers Linda Watts and Linda Tenkhoff, the event continues to grow.

"We packed about 520,000 meals last year, and the goal is to pack 700,000 this year," Watts said.

Those 700,000 meals will feed 1,918 children for an entire year. Watts said packing the food is "a small thing that makes a big difference."

"The need around the world is far beyond what we can even imagine in this country," she said. "The church has mission teams that go yearly to Haiti, Guatemala, Africa and they see the dire need there. And everyone can do this. Not everyone can go on a mission trip, but everyone can pack and make a huge difference."

Of the 3,400 volunteers registered for this year's event, Watts said many are repeat volunteers. According to Tenkhoff, part of the reason the event draws so many people is because "there's a job for everyone."

"It's a lot of fun, but you will work," she said. "Everybody's got a job. There's packing, or if you can't stand up long. there's the labeling, or if you're pretty strong, you can lift the boxes."

Tara Lang holds a MannaPack Rice bag as other volunteers add (Ingredients During The 2011 Feed My Starving Children)

Both Tenkhoff and Watts said they are amazed each year by the volunteer turnout and work accomplished. Every year, they said more groups from local schools, businesses and churches sign up to help.

La Croix also joined with New McKendree Church in Jackson for the first time. Watts said the church brought extra volunteers and extra financial help to pay for more meals for more children.

"This has really turned into a communitywide thing," Watts said.

The church will need to raise $154,000 for its goal of 700,000 meals. Watts said the church raises that money through donations and a Christmas Eve offering.

The major benefit of supporting Feed My Starving Children, Watts said, is knowing the money they raise and the food they pack will benefit those who need it most.

"It doesn't go through the government or anything, to make sure it's not diverted," she said.

Instead of going through the country's government, Feed My Starving Children joins with similar organizations already on the ground in a country in need to help distribute the food.

"When you just donate something [to an organization], you don't know for sure where it's going," Tenkhoff said. "But with Feed My Starving Children, you don't just donate, you pack it. And the next person to open that box is the person receiving the food."

After each shift, volunteers are given the opportunity to pray over the food before it's shipped to another country.

"You almost never see someone go out the door without putting a hand over the food and praying," Tenkhoff said.

The volunteers will gather Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Osage Centre to pack. While nearly every volunteer slot has been filled, some shifts still have openings. Those interested in volunteering may register at lacroixchurch.org.

Those interested in making a donation to Feed My Starving Children also may visit the church's website.

Because a winter storm likely will affect the area this weekend, Watts said volunteers should check the church's website for any changes or updates. Regardless of the weather, she said the event would continue.

Pertinent address:

3102 Lexington Ave, Cape Girardeau, MO

209 S High St, Jackson, MO

1625 N Kingshighway St., Cape Girardeau, MO