The event culminated a Lenten emphasis on consuming less. Congregation members were asked to give up a small luxury and donate money to pay for the food, which is distributed through the nonprofit organization Feed My Starving Children.
The congregation embraced the project and raised $30,000, which was almost double its goal, says Marny Danz, the congregation’s director of communications and ministries. As a result, they were able to pack far more than the originally planned 100,000 meals, which cost 17 cents each.
The dried meals are designed especially for starving children. They contain rice, soy, vitamins, minerals, dehydrated vegetables and chicken flavoring. One meal can feed six children for a day.
Feed My Starving Children ships meals to more than 60 impoverished countries. Last year, the organization shipped 124 million meals.
Students and volunteers at the last two CHIC events in Tennessee packed more than 1.2 million meals. Steve Raisch, minister to students, was among the volunteers and says the experience provided a real-life lesson about poverty to the teens.
Raisch noted that giving up a little luxury can make a big difference. For example, the cost of a single latte equals 18 of the packed meals.
© 2013 The Evangelical Covenant Church |