Through the span of four hours, students and community members packed 69,984 meals Sept. 16 — the equivalent of feeding 191 kids for a year.
Volunteers were invited to the HPER Center to participate in packing MannaPacks for starving children around the world, with each MannaPack containing enough for six meals. The packs contain vegetables, vitamins, soy and rice and are transported by Feed My Starving Children to warehouses, where they are then shipped to children in need in over 90 countries at feeding centers, CarePoints, orphanages, schools and refugee camps.
Feed My Starving Children is a Christian nonprofit organization that works closely alongside Tacos 4 Life Grill by gathering donations in a “Meal 4 Meal” program where each meal purchased in-store will raise the funds to donate a meal to feed hungry children.
Junior Gillian Fooshee said when she saw the announcement for the event she signed up immediately.
“It’s amazing how little time and effort it really takes to make such an impact,” Fooshee said. “I love volunteering because I know that my time and energy is going toward helping others. It’s an amazing feeling knowing that your small contribution is literally saving the lives of children.”
Fooshee said packing these meals really puts the thought of how much hunger affects others into perspective.
“It’s such a sad statistic that one in nine children goes hungry,” Fooshee said. “Packing such a simplistic meal also emphasizes how fortunate we are to have the food and resources that we have that others don’t have access to.”
Fooshee said she would love to continue contributing to Feed My Starving Children’s cause.
“If they had a permanent packing site closer by, I would definitely contribute more of my time there,” Fooshee said. “It’s fun, you can meet new friends and you get to make a difference in the lives of so many — what more could you want?”
Director of First Year Experience Lindsey Shurley invited first-year students to pack meals as a way to bond with each other and continue their volunteer services throughout their time at UCA.
“Students can become a volunteer, so you’re getting something doing a service component, but you’re also finding and hopefully making connections with people that you’re working at the table with,” Shurley said. “You can’t have your phone, you can’t have AirPods and you can’t be doing your own thing and that’s what I think is unique about this event.”
Shurley said she is thankful to work with Tacos 4 Life for this event.
“It’s great having a partnership with Tacos 4 Life in town, and their original location is in Conway,” Shurley said. “You’re working with people that are a part of the UCA community and then it’s a global impact too. This is the second year we have done this and we hope to make this an annual event.”
Assistant Mobile Manufacturing Manager Shelby Baker works for Feed My Starving Children in Arizona and is directed to other locations across six different states, where she helps set up volunteer packing stations and facilitate events.
“We send MobilePack staff from Arizona, Texas, Illinois, Minnesota and Pennsylvania,” Baker said. “We do these events all over the U.S. all year round and they just pick who gets to go to those events. It’s always a mystery, but it’s awesome to go everywhere.”
Baker said the most rewarding thing about working with others creating MannaPacks is the relationships with others she makes.
“We might not see our impact on this side of the world, but when we get to heaven, I think we’ll know how much good was done in the world,” Baker said. “Thank you guys for eating Tacos 4 Life and for supporting Feed My Starving Children. I’m gonna keep feeding kids as long as we can.”
Interested volunteers may visit the fmsc.org website, where the nonprofit posts updated volunteer information. Others interested in the cause who may be unable to attend meal-packing days are welcome to eat at participating Tacos 4 Life restaurants, or Dōblé Mexican Cafe.
