The First United Methodist Church Valparaiso held a Kids Against Hunger food pack on Saturday, May 11. Two hundred and twenty-five family members and friends of First United Methodist Church Valparaiso packed 42,180 meals during the six-hour event. Working in two 3-hour shifts, the volunteers measured meal components, weighed the product, and sealed the bags on seven assembly packing lines. The meals were then boxed, sealed, and loaded onto trucks for delivery.
Kids Against Hunger of Central Indiana came to Valparaiso to train and lead the volunteers. Kids Against Hunger is a non-profit humanitarian food organization whose mission is to "Feed the hungry at home, Feed the starving abroad, and Teach our children the power of volunteerism." The food packages contain highly nutritious, life-saving meals for the malnourished and starving children and their families in the United States and developing countries. The meals provide a stable nutritional base from which the recipient families can move from starvation to self-sufficiency.
7200 meals packed on Saturday will be shipped to the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana, serving Lake and Porter Counties - Indiana; 3650 meals to the Broadway Christian Parish UMC Food Pantry - South Bend; 28,500 meals to Mission Guatemala - Guatemala; 1730 meals to the Hilltop Food Pantry - Valparaiso; and 1100 meals to The Christian Food Pantry - Valparaiso.
First United Methodist Church Valparaiso had set a goal to pack 40,000 meals during the event. The workers' efficiency and enthusiasm resulted in packing 42,108 meals, far exceeding that mark.