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North Montgomery FFA fills bags to combat world hunger

 

 

By SUSAN BLOWER

Indiana Correspondent

 

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. — The North Montgomery FFA chapter worked hard to provide 12,096 meals last week in the local community as well as around the globe. More than 65 volunteers packed boxes with sacks of rice, soy, dehydrated vegetables and vitamin mineral powder; the mix requires only boiling water to be turned into a lifesaving meal.

The supplies were provided by Kids Against Hunger, a nonprofit national program that seeks to stamp out hunger worldwide. The local branch at Waynetown Christian Church coordinated the event with FFA.

"This is a huge event for us. The kids love it because we pour back into the communities they come from. One in four children is hungry in this area," said Allison Delp, president of the local branch of Kids Against Hunger.

She explained 56 boxes packed by the FFA chapter were going to local backpack programs and throughout the world as needed. "I really enjoy it because we’re not only helping our local children, but worldwide," said Makhalea Young, FFA chapter vice president and a junior at North Montgomery High School.

Young stood at a table with fellow FFA students, parents and community members for 3-4 hours as they scooped and measured ingredients and filled bags. The bags were then numbered and placed in boxes. Six meals, or servings, are in each bag and each box holds 36 bags.

"We are feeding one meal for one person for one day for 33 years," is how FFA Advisor Nancy Bell described it.

This is the third year the FFA chapter has participated in the Kids Against Hunger event. Last year, Young said a local missionary saw a box packed by North Montgomery FFA distributed in Haiti.

The Kids Against Hunger FFA event began with the unlikely prospect of a "Kiss the Pig" contest, in which students voted for a teacher to kiss a pig, raising more than $100. But filling and sending each box costs $54, and the rest – about $3,000 – was covered by sponsorship from Beck’s Hybrids, Cargill and Crop Production Services.

"We have a good turnout, good participation and good kids," said Bill Mermoud, Kids Against Hunger team volunteer. "With the resources this nation has, there is absolutely no reason people should go hungry. We have more than we need."

Delp said last year the Kids Against Hunger branch packed 367 boxes in its effort to fill local needs. On the bags is a label quoting the Bible, John 6:35: "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."

"This is our way of sharing Christ’s love," Delp said.

She said any church, youth group, school group, scouting, business or any other group can organize their own bagging project. Participants are asked to donate or raise money to cover the cost of the food, bags and boxes. For more information on Kids Against Hunger, go to the website at http://kids againsthunger.org

3/25/2015