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    Feed My Starving Children

    5.0 (31 reviews)
    Open 9:30 am - 9:30 pm

    Services - Feed My Starving Children

    Community Service/Non-Profit

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    Grace Community Church MobilePack event in Marietta, Georgia on March 1, 2019. gracemobilepack.org
    Daniel B.

    Feed My Starving Children is a Christian non-profit organization that has been feeding poor, hungry children around the world since 1987. It's headquartered in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. They have multiple facilities in the Midwest and Western US and also do "MobilePack" volunteer events around the country. I participated in the latter through a volunteer program at my workplace. The event took place earlier this month at Grace Community Church in Marietta, Georgia. I enjoyed it and, as far as I can tell, all my coworkers who participated had fun too. We helped pack meals. Specifically, we helped pack bags of rice and other food branded and known as "MannaPack Rice" (they have other varieties of MannaPack that include potato instead of rice). MannaPack is scientifically-formulated to provide basic nutrition. The four main ingredients are rice, soy, dried veggies, and vitamin powder (so the meal is fortified). As a Soylent drinker, I wondered why they didn't just distribute something like Soylent instead (Soylent is another scientifically-formulated, healthy, and nutritious meal: https://www.yelp.com/biz/soylent-los-angeles-2). The reason is obvious: cost. I was told a single MannaPack costs only $0.22 (6-12 servings). A bottle of Soylent costs about $3.30 (1 serving). Huge difference. The sanctuary of the church was cleared out and used as the temporary MobilePack meal-packing facility. Everything was already set up for us. All we had to do was listen to staff from Feed My Starving Children and watch an instructional and safety video. The instructional video was a bit long and it was hard to remember everything after just one viewing. After the video, it was pretty much "off to the races" and people seemed to station-up willy-nilly. There wasn't a whole lot of direction or organization. We worked two shifts, morning and afternoon. We worked with other groups -- churches, schools, and other organizations. Since we familiarized ourselves with the meal-packing process during the morning session, we knew exactly what to do in the afternoon session. I think it might be better if they split the instructional video in half and assign people to tasks earlier so they can better focus on the task(s) they need to accomplish. I saw many confused people during both the morning and afternoon sessions. Tasks included scooping rice and soy in bulk, making sure each station had enough rice and soy to keep the assembly lines moving; scooping individual portions of rice, soy, veggies, and vitamins; opening packs, weighing packs (380-400 grams), and sealing packs; stacking packs, boxing packs, and loading the boxes onto pallets. Each 2-hour packing session we participated in yielded something in the range of roughly 20,000 to 30,000 MannaPacks. According to Feed My Starving Children's calculations, in each session, we packed enough food to feed about 60 to 80 children 1 meal a day for 1 year. I'm not sure why they used 1 meal a day. Using 2-3 meals a day would've been a more realistic metric. After each packing session, we watched a video of little kids from an orphanage in Africa talking about what they wanted to be when they grow up. The point of the video, as Feed My Starving Children staff explained to us, was that thanks in part to our volunteering, less fortunate kids don't have to worry about where their next meal is coming from. Instead, they can focus on other things like school. The video and rattling off of statistics like the numbers in the paragraph above were supposed to give volunteers the warm and fuzzies, and to demonstrate in numbers, the impact they've (we've) made. Also after each session, a prayer was held over a pallet of boxes. Participation was optional. This was my second meal-packing volunteer experience. The first was at Open Hand, a local non-profit in Atlanta (https://www.yelp.com/biz/open-hand-atlanta-atlanta). The two experiences were different. At Open Hand, we were inside an actual refrigerated food facility and preparing meal trays (essentially TV dinners) with "real" food such as chicken, mushroom risotto, cornbread, and condiments. Those meals were delivered by volunteers locally. Open Hand was a more tightly-run ship. Feed My Starving Children was a bigger, louder production. They had upbeat music playing in the background and encouraged volunteers to have fun during the meal-packing process such as hootin' and hollerin' in celebration after a box of 36 MannaPacks had been completed. It was a more hectic and chaotic. I don't think the training nor quality control were as good, from the contents of a bag to the quality of its seal (I witnessed a couple bags burst open accidentally after sealing). What Feed My Starving Children and other non-profits like this are doing is great. I just hope changes are being made in the communities where these MannaPacks are being sent so they don't abuse and/or grow dependent on all this free food. They need to be uplifted.

    Scott F.

    This faith based ministry packs food and seeds it worldwide to help alleviate the global issue of hunger. Ages 5 and up can sign up to pack food as well as serve in other capacities. Upon entry they run you through a brief orientation and help you understand what drives their organization and how they specifically help. After serving in 40+ countries I have seen the reality of hunger up close and most Americans I know live in the top 2% of the world economically. Through generous donations from individuals, churches and the marketplace they secure nutritious food items for a protein based soup and package and process on site. Our group packed for Nicaragua a country I have visited several times. You work as a team and it's rewarding to know your labors are blessing others. For a community that loves food - get in the game YELP :)

    The four elements that go into each MannaPack.
    Ann R.

    This is the second year that I have brought a group of volunteers from the Scandia-Marine Lions Club and their families to Feed My Starving Children on the day after Thanksgiving. We had 36 people volunteering and it was great experience for us all! The pre-packing online registration is easy and efficient. When we arrived, there were plenty of parking spots available and the overflow lot also was open. We checked in and got a hairnet (which is required for working with food). After a brief introduction about FMSC, we watched a video about the impact that the food had on a young girl in Uganda. The transformation was amazing! There were people in our group who were moved to tears seeing how the rice, vegetables, soy, and vitamin meals could take a child close to death and give her life once again! There are many ways to volunteer, so our group did so in a number of ways: the majority packed food while others worked "behind the scenes" with scooping soy into the bins, were runners (bringing food to the work stations or bringing completed boxes to the warehouse), or were box sealers (ensuring that all 36 packages of food were in the boxes and then sealing them). We had enough volunteers to fill 2 work stations. For about an hour or so we packed food. Some people stayed in one spot while others moved around to try different jobs at our stations. There was music playing, announcements to let us know how much time was still remaining, and a FMSC running up and down the main aisle ringing a triangle. They made packing food fun for everyone - from our youngest volunteers in third grade to our oldest volunteers at 80 years old! Before we knew it, the time in the packing area was done. FMSC had the volunteers stand near their work stations as a group and announce how many boxes had been packed. We cleaned our work stations and made our way back to the main room where everyone could sample the rice mixture that they packed. FMSC did a closing presentation about the impact that the volunteers had. During the packing session on November 29, 2019: - 209 boxes total were packed by all the volunteers (or 7,524 Manna Packs). - 216 meals can be made per box. - 45,144 meals will be made from these boxes. - 124 kids can be fed for a year (1 meal per day). - The boxes will be shipped to Haiti and Afghanistan. The impact that the Scandia-Marine Lions and their families made on November 29, 2019: - The Scandia-Marine Lions packed 48 boxes or 23% of all the boxes packed during the 12-2 p.m. shift. - In the 48 boxes, the Lions and their families created 1,728 Manna Packs. - In total, the Lions and their families packed 10,368 meals. - Through the work done on November 29th, the Lions and their families will be feeding 29 children for a year! This means another year of health for these children and another year of school for them. What does 45,144 meals look like? - The Xcel Energy Center seats 18,000 people. Today's packing session will feed children who could fill the Xcel Energy Center 2 1/2 times. - The Lions and their families packed 48 boxes of food which will feed children who could fill over half (58%) of the Xcel Energy Center! Expenses: - Each meal costs only 24 cents. - For $88, a child can be fed for an entire year. - The cost of a box of food (36 Manna packs) is $52. This was such a worthwhile and meaningful way to volunteer, especially on the day after Thanksgiving. We are looking forward to returning again next year (though we will, most likely, be packing food before then either at the Coon Rapids location and/or a mobile pack closer to our home in April).

    Darla Y.

    First time volunteering for Feed my Starving Children! It was awesome experience! I would recommend anyone to do it! It was 2 hours of volunteer work and it was well worth it on a Saturday! I went with some coworkers for a volunteer event we planned for our organization. The sign up process was very simple and easy! They first introduced what the organization does and the importance of the organization. Then after that they break the group up into three. They ask volunteers to different set of jobs, which makes sense. Hair nets and no jewelry are to be worn when you're helping packing the food. I ended up going to the room that packed the food packets. Each station can have probably up to 8-10 people. There would be some people scooping the dry food into the funnel into the bag. Then there are two people to weigh the food and then a person to seal and pack the bagged dry food. It was fun volunteer opportunity! And to also do this community outreach event with my coworkers!

    Chalkboard where it explains where the food you packed your session will be going to.
    Erika G.

    I LOVEEEE going here every month. My friends and I come here once a month. We always make it a competition and try to surpass the boxes we packed the time before. It's ALWAY a great, positive and joyful atmosphere. They do a very good job explaining everything, afterwards you go pack the food. They play music while you pack and once you're done they tell you how much you packed and how many kids that feeds. If you're in the area I HIGHLY recommend you to go at least for one session. You just request a time on their website and show up when it's your time.

    Yelp Helps 04.18.16!
    Kara D.

    Not only does this organization have a great mission (sending starving children across 31 countries nutritional meals!), but they make it very approachable and easy for volunteers to hop in and participate! A great group of Yelpers came here to kick off Yelp Helps 2016 (https://www.yelp.com/events/twin-cities-yelp-helps-2016), and it was a super fun and rewarding experience. The whole process was organized and informative. We watched a few short presentations, featuring rules/regulations, food packing instructions, and of course the children that we'd help feed and their stories. Very heartbreaking and warming at the same time. Jewelry off, hairnets on, and hands washed, the Yelp Helpers assembled at the packing stations. We efficiently packed vitamins, veggies, soy, and rice, measured and sealed the bags, and packed up boxes while cheering. The music was cranked and the hour flew by!!! After, we were able to sample the MannaPack meal (omg it's delicious!!) and learned that we had packed over 12,000 meals for children in Malawi. What an accomplishment. Thank you FMSC for all that you do. Fellow community members, check out this link to volunteer at one of their 3 MN locations: http://volunteer.fmsc.org/Register/Default.aspx#.VxpMgZMrJn4

    We got to sample the food we prepared.
    John R.

    This was an awesome experience. I'm glad me and my coworkers took the time to help out this awesome organization. The organizers made sure we had a good time while helping people across the world. We packed food destined for the Philippines, in the time we were there we made over 18,000 meals, enough to feed 51 kids for 1 whole year. That's really amazing when you think about it. And overall cost was under $5,000. I can't wait to do this again. It is a really good feeling when you are done. I have a ton of respect now for those involved making this happen for 5 shifts a day 6 days a week

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    They are highly rated by Charity Navigator and they provide meals to at risk children.

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    The best place. You feel amazing after helping out!! We come every month now! Tuesday nights see RICHARD!

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