As we focus on Thanksgiving and our wonderful Midwestern abundance of food, we’re reminded that not everyone is so lucky. Fortunately, there are a number of ways for us to help hungry families.
Oaklee’s, along with our friends at Hope Lutheran, @Properties, and other local organizations recently volunteered at Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) in Libertyville. This organization is a Christian non-profit committed to feeding hungry children throughout the world. Their highly nutritious food formulas are packed by volunteers at center across the U.S. and are shipped to missions and organizations around the world.
Volunteering is easy and fun. FMSC has permanent packing sites in Aurora, Libertyville and Schaumburg, with packing sessions every day but Sunday, during the day and evening, so it’s easy to find a time to help. You can go on your own or with a larger group and with children as young as 5 years old. It’s the perfect volunteer opportunity for families, scouts, and community service groups.
The evening that Oaklee’s volunteered, our session packed 56 boxes of a special formula that will provide over 33,000 servings costing $7,392, just 22 cents per serving! That’s a lot of food for just one hour’s time.
The Northern Illinois Food Bank is another organization that counts on volunteer help at their centers in Geneva, Park City and Rockford. Illinois has 488 food pantries listed at foodpantries.org. Some are run by local government organizations and many more are housed in local churches and staffed by volunteers. You can find one near you here.
An easy way to help is to buy brands that donate to the cause of ending hunger in America. ConAgra foods, with brands such as Libby’s, Hunt’s, Healthy Choice, and more, puts a red push pin on some of their foods. With their Child Hunger Ends Here campaign, you can go online to enter a code from the product, and they will make a donation to
Find even more information and places to volunteer at hungervolunteerconnection.org. Whether you can donate your time or money or host a collection or food drive, it’s always the right time to help!