Feed My Starving Children

Our family volunteered at the former Rainbow Foods in Apple Valley mobile pack event. We were the last group for the week and the overall goal was 4 million meals to be packed for the week. This event was organized professionally. There was a video we watched showing us what to do. Then off to our station. Husband and I added chicken powder, veggie flakes, soy meal and rice to a funnel where someone is holding a bag, then my son weighed it to be 380 – 400 grams then someone seals the bag. Then its counted on a table, then boxed. All by volunteers. It cost $ 800,000 for the food. A meal costs 22 cents and churches, boy scouts, schools and volunteers packed almost 4.1 million meals! All packed by volunteers! We volunteered about 2.5 hours and it was so gratifying.

I first attended a Feed My Starving Children session in Eagan but I had the most fun in Chanhassen so they’re getting my review: P
Instead of the typical rehearsal dinner, we brought the whole family here the day before our wedding to give back before we get so much. I absolutely love this organization and all it does.
I recommend bringing a group of friends for your special occasion as well or «just because». It’s a lot more fun with friends though you will make more while you’re there. Once they school you to what FMSC is all about, you’re sent on your way to wash your hands and pack some food. Each group member gets a job at the tables and you will pack food for what feels like 10 minutes (time flies when you’re having fun!). We obviously recommend getting a table with friends/​family. The assembly-​line style jobs can be chosen by you, they do not force specific positions on anyone.
The staff here on our day was incredibly awesome and genuine when speaking of all the organization does. They even gave us future newlyweds free t-​shirts once we were all done packing the food and praying over it. We sent so much food on to Haiti and we left feeling good.
Our families were mostly newcomers to FMSC but they thanked us for taking them there to experience this. I know we have made some repeat customers out of them and we definitely look forward to our future experiences with this organization.

This is the fourth time I have done a Feed my Starving Children with a Target Stores volunteer event.
The premise is, volunteers help pack all the nutritious meals at stations of six and they turn up the music for an hour and it is a great way of team building.
They start it off with a movie of how your time packing helps needy children around the world. I am sure they could probably automate all of this for a couple hundred grand, but it is also a good fund raising event as well. There are worse things to do with your money.
Everything seems on the up and up and it is a good Christian organization.
We had some laughs packing up the food, which consists of a vitamin mixture, some veggies, some soy protein, and some rice.
A great non-​profit, but I still think they could automate it for a few hundred grand.

For my one hundredth review, this only seems fitting.
After Unilocal has fed me so many times, I’ll return the favor to the children of El Salvador, Swaziland, and Vietnam.
If you are reading this, please continue on. It’s worth it.
I am human. I love eating out, trying new places, living life to the fullest. But after stumbling upon FMSC for a company charity event, I find myself gravitating towards volunteering for this organization more and more. FMSC is a charity where from start to finish, all the food they pack and send to 3^rd world nations is donated by volunteers, either through monetary donations or through packing and shipping the food across oceans.
What’s fantastic is the process. You start with a video about how you’re work will impact the less privileged around the world. You then spend the next 90 minutes packing food. It’s frankly easy work and serious fun competing with other teams to pack the most food.
At our last session, when it was all said and done, 45 people packed over 12,000 meals.
12,000 meals = feeding 34 kids for a year.
I’ll even add this note. Some might think I work for this charity. Wrong. Or I’m Christian and I’m supporting a Christian organization. Nope, I’m Buddhist (albeit a bad one given I eat meat and don’t meditate enough. Meditating = 2 hour nap). I will say that selfishly, donating my time and money to this organization gives me self fulfillment.
My recco? Go to their website (
), sign up for a session, and give yourself one of the most satisfying, most enjoyable experiences you’ll have giving to charity.