Feeding The Hungry Takes Equal Parts Love And Effort

“I’m going home a happier person than when I came,” said Michelle Lynch, a member of Grace Episcopal Church of Martinez last Saturday as she left the Stop Hunger Now event at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Walnut Creek. She was one of the 211 volunteers from all over Contra Costa who had just finished filling and packing up more than 50,000 meals in two hours for hungry children around the world.

“What a terrific crew,’ said Mickey Horner, U.S. Western Regional Director of Stop Hunger Now, who trucked in the supplies bought earlier through local donations from Contra Costa civic groups, congregations and individuals to cover the 25-cent cost per meal. The international agency, whose mission is to stop hunger worldwide, distributes the food packages mainly to children in Third World schools where many are sent solely because there they will be fed a nourishing meal. In is a humane way to educate some of the poorest children in the world.

“Every six seconds,” Horner told the assembled volunteers as they got ready to work, “a child dies of hunger someplace in the world.” That seemed enough to spur on the group as it got into assembly lines to begin the project. The work areas had been set up earlier by volunteers, including youth from Boy Scout Troop 202 that meets at St. Paul’s.

“Our goal was to raise money and volunteers to fill 50,000 meals,” said the Rev. Sylvia Vasquez, St. Paul’s rector, “and we did it!” At Saturday’s event, one man who was at the first planning meeting of local religious and civic representatives in January, said. “It seemed like a pipe dream to me then, but I’m so glad I turned out to be wrong.” 

Volunteers from Danville to Hercules, representing diverse civic and religious groups, came to help at the event. Each had helped to raise the funds for the project. They ranged in age from four to 90 as they measured, filled, sealed and weighed bags of specially blended rice, vegetable protein and vitamins in exact amounts developed through experience by Stop Hunger Now. The packaged food is shipped to non-governmental agencies that can keep it from being stolen before it is distributed to non-discriminating educational programs. The meal-packaging arm of Stop Hunger Now began in late 2005 and since that time volunteers have packaged more than 61 million meals that have gone to 76 countries, including Afghanistan, where Saturday’s meals are headed.

“I feel great!” said Ben Toland, a boy scout who took part in the event. “Helping hungry children and getting service hours – what could be better!” Two women who overheard him agreed. They had come from San Francisco because they had participated in a South Bay Stop Hunger Now event and had so much fun helping they swore they’d go to every event in the area.

To learn more about Stop Hunger Now and how your business, school, civic organization or congregation can get involved go to www.stophungernow.org.