LU Partners With Feed My Starving Children For Meal Packing Event Feb. 28

LU Serve partnered with Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) to host a meal packing event Feb. 28 in the LaHaye Multipurpose Center to assemble meals for those impoverished across the world. 

Liberty University students and staff were invited during Convocation and Campus Community to join LU Serve in “Meal Packing for Haiti,” an event held in collaboration with FMSC.  

FMSC is a Christian organization that partners with missionaries worldwide to provide necessary food supplies to those living in third world countries. Volunteers were tasked with filling “MannaPacks,” an all-in-one meal bag that provides rice, vegetables, dietary supplements and additional nutrients to prevent and reverse malnutrition. 

“Around the globe, every four seconds, a person dies of a hunger-related medical issue,” Robin Johnson, a traveling mobile pack volunteer coordinator for FMSC, said. “So, our mantra, our mission, at Feed My Starving Children is ‘until all are fed.’” 

The goal of the event was to pack as many MannaPacks as possible; volunteers were placed in teams and given roles such as scooper, bagger, sealer or boxer. Each team member played a vital role in keeping the process efficient so their team could provide as many meals as possible for others. Every time a box was filled, its team would let out a shout to celebrate and encourage other teams in the room.  

With an energetically packed room, contemporary Christian worship music playing over speakers and shouts echoing across the room every few minutes, the event was viewed as lively and encouraging by those who volunteered. 

“… There’s music hopping, there’s people cheering, it’s just great,” freshman Elijah Ruediger said.  

In addition to filling the bellies of those in need, FMSC seeks to help fill the spiritual need of its beneficiaries. FMSC partners with over 200 missionaries worldwide, who help distribute the meal packs, and pray over mission efforts in poverty-stricken communities.  

“… While we may not be meeting a spiritual need with a meal, we are meeting (those in need), which allows them to be interacting in a church setting or in an education setting that will then then offer children the opportunity to hear the gospel,” senior Caroline Holder said.  

According to LU Serve’s Instagram page, the event, which took place over six hours, totaled 272,000 meals — enough to feed 745 people for a year.  

In addition to campus administrators such as President Dondi Costin attending, some clubs on campus also came to support FMSC. Senior Tayla Butler, the president of the Caribbean Student Association, led her group to volunteer and explained the event’s importance to her and the club. 

“Haiti is a part of the Caribbean,” Butler said. “We wanted to help our brothers and sisters and … advocate.” 

According to Steven Gillmun, the senior director of LU Serve, the local Christian humanitarian nonprofits World Help and Mission of Hope also played a large part in the event. While World Help shipped the container of MannaPacks to Haiti, Mission of Hope helped distribute the meals to churches and schools upon their arrival.  

According to FMSC’s website at the time this story was published, the organization has engaged with 1,162,560 volunteers and hosted 235 events in the 2023/2024 fiscal year. In addition to their nationwide meal packing events, nicknamed “MobilePacks,” FMSC also has eight permanent meal packing sites, all which are located in Minnesota, Illinois, Texas or Arizona.  

MobilePack events, including the one hosted at Liberty, also offer a way for attendees to provide financially for those affected by poverty. In addition to providing meals and working with local missionaries, FMSC also created FMSC MarketPlace. This program provides sustainable jobs for artisan workers, whose wares are set up for sale nationwide through MobilePack events and an online site.  

Half of the proceeds from all sales go to the artisans, and the other half is put toward providing more meals. According to FMSC’s website, the organization currently supports 2,206 artisans worldwide and provided 4,654,795 meals through FMSC Marketplace as of March 6. 

For more information on supporting FMSC, upcoming events or volunteering, visit https://www.fmsc.org/. 

McKinnon is the off-campus news editor for the Liberty Champion.