A fundraiser at Felder United Methodist Church in rural Pike County helped feed some hungry school kids in Haiti last year, and organizers hope it’ll be twice as successful this year.
Matt Casteel, program coordinator for Stop Hunger Now, and Tara Mir of Felder UMC spoke to the McComb Rotary Club Wednesday about Mississippi efforts to alleviate world hunger.
Last year the local Rotary Club co-sponsored a 5K and 10K race with the church.
Mir said 141 runners participated last year, up from 48 the previous year. The church was responsible for packaging 20,000 meals.
They hope to double the effort this year, packaging 40,000, Mir said.
The race is scheduled May 21 at Felder UMC.
Casteel talked about Stop Hunger Now, a national nonprofit organization that packages dehydrated meals, high in proteins and vitamins, for shipment to needy parts of the world.
The Jackson warehouse concentrated on school children in Haiti last year, he said, and he showed pictures of some of the children.
“These meals save lives,” he said, adding that they cost 25 cents each.
He said the United States produces enough food to feed the world, but the problem is distribution — getting it to the right people.
Stop Hunger Now, which he said packed 16 million meals last year, shipped meals to more than 50 countries.
