You’re driving down the highway and an 18-wheeler goes by—sometimes you can tell right away what’s inside by the name brands all over the truck. Other times, you just have to wonder, “What’s that truck bringing?”
Well pretty soon, much of Cook County will be seeing an 18-wheeler, and it’ll be bringing the fixin’s for filling needs in many ways. On May 21, it will pull into Grand Marais and 300 – 500 local volunteers will help unpack and repack it. Filling a need to work together on a volunteer project. Filling a need to provide nutritious food to people living where food is rarely sufficient. What’s inside? Enough dried food (rice, chicken, protein and vitamins) to make meal packs for 100,000 meals. How is this possible?
Thanks to the highly respected Minnesota-based nonprofit Feed My Starving Children (FMSC), we of Cook County will be able, in one day, to package and prepare for shipment to the hungry around the world:
100,000 meals in one day!
Like many things in big packages, some assembly is required. On the semi is the equipment for making the meal packs and the bulk food. The equipment gets setup, and volunteers take two-hour shifts weighing, scooping, sealing, and packaging. At the end of the day, equipment and meal packs are loaded onto the 18-wheeler and away it goes, back to the headquarters. From there the food is sent to where it is most needed around the world. Sometimes in the U.S., sometimes Africa, Asia, South America.
And that 18-wheeler? Packed up the next day and sent to another town. They have six semis, and they are all booked, all the time, going to communities like ours. And the warehouse in the Twin Cities is equally busy. Because there is poverty and hunger all around the globe.
The cost for 100,000 meals = $19,000 + volunteers to pack.
This is a project with many local connections. Youth from several area churches, congregations across the county, and a grant from Thrivent Financial are making it possible. So far, fundraisers by the youth, donations from local residents, and the help of Thrivent mean we have raised close to $12,000. Which means we still have $7,000 to raise before May 21.
Can you help? Do you want to send money? Do you want to volunteer?
We in Cook County know about concerns of the rising cost of food. Around the world, this is causing severe hunger. We can, by giving a few hours and a few dollars, help reduce life-threatening hunger and come together in a fun and exciting project. Folks who have participated in FMSC “MobilePack Events” talk about the fun and personal impact.
What can you do?
Call any area church or Bethlehem Lutheran youth director Jamie at 387-2227 or youth director Caleb at the Evangelical Free Church at 387-1565. Or you can call Trinity Lutheran, Hovland at 475-2439 or Gary Zinter at 1-800-777-4533.
You can also send a check directly to FMSC, 401 93rd Ave NW, Coon Rapids MN 55433 (be sure to note Cook Co. #1105-36 on the check). And be ready to sign up, too, for that 18-wheeler! 18-wheeler! Filled with food! Our dollars, our hours, feeding the world! Each month a member of the Cook County Ministerium will offer Spiritual Reflections. For January, our contributor is Pastor Kris Garey, Trinity Lutheran, Hovland.
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