Feed My Starving Children- www.fmsc.org

It's been on my bucket list for a while now so I can't explain how excited I am that I have the opportunity to go to Chicago this week to volunteer for FMSC!!  FMSC is a world hunger initiative based in Coon Rapids, MN with volunteer sites also in Chicago (3) and Arizona (1).  Their mission is to feed malnourished children from nearly 70 countries.  Volunteers gather at a pack site and create Manna packs which are meals composed of nutrients, vegetables, soy and rice.  The manna packs are then shipped all around the world to those most in need.  With an estimated 870 million starving people in the world, 1 in 7 people going to bed hungry each night, you can imagine the impact that an organization like FMSC, who produces roughly 160 million meals each year, can have.  Not only is this a 4 star rated charity with top-notch proficiency, financially and operationally, but the beauty is that each meal is produced for only 22 cents.  When I discovered this I was pretty shocked that the difference between someone's life and death was only 22 cents!  Even more shocking to me was that millions of people die each year over such a solvable issue, yet no one talks about it.  The day I learned of FMSC was the day I started looking at discarded pennies laying on the ground with disgust.  How could someone throw down this 9 cents?  Or why were they too lazy or embarrassed to pick it up if they accidentally dropped it?  Do they not know that all they need is 13 more cents to save someone's life?  How could they not care??  I realize now that the problem with most Americans is not that they don't care, it's that they are ignorant to the world's issues and this information is not readily available to them or something our media chooses to focus on.  For once I would like to turn on the world news to see a story about this rather than a murder trial or politicians arguing.  Fat chance.  I think if more people knew, if more people knew what actions to take, if more people knew what impact their disposable change and time could have, most would want to do something about it.  For myself, the feeling I will have this week when I'm physically holding and creating meals that will travel the world and end up in the hands and stomachs of starving kids is going to be amazing and I am blessed to be able to feel it!!  I'm thankful to FMSC for helping me let those little guys and girls know that I was here. 

To get involved visit fmsc.org  There you will find a link for donations, the marketplace which allows you to buy artisan goods with profits going to create more meals, and pack sites for those interested in volunteering.  They also have mobile packs for those who are unable to travel to the above mentioned states.  Mobile packs take place in nearly every state.