Feed My Starving Children

(Thank you to FMSC for permission to use their logo)

            It was a brisk Saturday evening when a group of parishioners from Prince of Peace Lutheran Church of Palatine Illinois met to make the trek to Schaumburg.  It’s not a long drive by any stretch of the imagination, but their trip would not end there.  Schaumburg would be the starting point for their hearts to make a longer journey; one that would take their love to countries outside of the United States.  Their destination was Feed My Starving Children’s (FMSC) Schaumburg packing site. 

            FMSC is a Christian organization whose goal is to feed the starving children around the world.  Their success depends on donations and volunteers.  Ninety-two percent of the donations go directly to the food program.  Through the utilization of volunteers, labor costs are negligible bringing the cost to produce a meal down to a mere twenty-two cents.  These meals are specifically designed to meet the needs of severely malnourished children.  More information about FMSC, the contents of the meals and how to volunteer can be found at http://www.fmsc.org.

            FMSC packing sites are located in Minnesota where the organization started, and in Illinois and Arizona.  In Schaumburg, the parishioners of Prince of Peace volunteered for a two hour shift.  Some weighed the food, others packed it and still others sealed the plastic bags.  At the end of the shift, a prayer was said over the food and then the volunteers were told how many children would eat due to their efforts.  They were delighted to learn that by giving up two hours of their time, 65 children would be able to eat for a year.  It takes longer than that to make a Thanksgiving dinner to feed nine for one day (a week when you consider leftovers).    This is a great volunteer opportunity where the whole family can be involved including children ages five and up.