Michelle Henn, development advisor for Feed My Starving Children, was one of the many people present at this year’s kick-off meeting.

WARSAW — A kick-off meeting was held last night, Jan. 23, to begin working towards this year’s goals for the Warsaw Mobilepack. With the main goal of making an impact, the group wants to raise $220,000 in order to donate one million meals.

Through a partnership with Feed My Starving Children, this large community service event is one of the many hunger relief efforts around the country led by the Feed My Starving Children organization. Since 2014, Warsaw has hosted annual Mobilepacks to make a difference in the fight against world hunger.

“The need typically outweighs our abilities to meet the needs around the world,” explained Michelle Henn, development advisor for Feed My Starving Children. “You guys are going to be able to pack another million meals to help that need.”

This year’s event will take place Oct. 17 – 20 at the Gordon Rec Center on Grace College’s Campus. Community members are invited to donate to the cause or come out and help pack meals. A donation of $80 feeds one person for a year, $365 gives a family food stability for a year and $1,800 provides one pallet of Feed My Starving Children Meals. There are also sponsorship levels and incentives for businesses and groups to raise varying donation amounts.

In 2016, the community was able to pack 1,073,088 meals with the help of 4,478 volunteers. Almost 3,000 kids were fed for a year due to the efforts. Each year the meals are shipped to the location with the greatest need in the world at that moment. Feed My Starving Children meals are served at schools, orphanages, medical clinics and feeding programs in 70 countries.

Elizabeth Stone, a senior at Warsaw High School has been involved with the event for several years and worked eight shifts last year. “It’s one of the most fun events of the entire year.”

She also had the opportunity to travel to Haiti and see where many of the Feed My Starving Children meals end up. Stone shared stories and photos of her trip during the meeting. The three main things she learned from the trip and shared last night were that food is a catalyst, food is opportunity and food turns hunger into hope.

Anyone interested in donating to the cause can do so online or mailed to Warsaw MobilePack P.O. Box 272, Winona Lake, IN 46590.