Feed My Starving Children mobile pack site came annually to the area before COVID-19. This year, it's back Aug. 24-27 at the Michiana Event Center in Shipshewana, Ind. It is large enough to host the groups who arrived to fill Manna Pack meals.

School children came under the direction of teachers during the day. In the evening, adult and youth groups from local churches arrived along with families, service clubs and volunteers from local businesses.

On Wednesday, a group from St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Colon traveled to the MEC. Jeanne Burton-Lee rallied the volunteers as she has for about eight years.

Why? Because, “276 million people go hungry every day in our world,” Burton-Lee said. “This is one thing we can do to help feed someone. Our Lord was really big on feeding people.”

She talked as the group added the exact measurements required for one pack — one cup of this, one cup of that, one scoop each of several more items. Two group members sealed the packs and filled boxes.

The event ran like a well-oiled machine both at the tables where groups filled packs and with a host of volunteers who kept the tables supplied with ingredients and loaded the filled boxes on a pallet — 36 boxes per pallet.

It was high energy. A cheer would break out when one of the many groups filled another box holding 36 packs. Other volunteers had sit-down jobs adding labels to packs yet to be filled. Everyone was wearing a hair net and gloves.

Kurt Kuhlmann, new pastor at St. Paul's, was at a packing site for the first time.

"I'm really impressed how mechanical this is," he said. "Any age can do this."

Feed My Starving Children, founded in 1987 by Minnesota businessman Richard Proudfit, is a non-profit organization.

The meals are developed by food science and nutrition professionals to supplement nutritional needs and reduce problems with malnutrition. Nutrition allows children to grow, thrive and develop to their full potential, according to their website, fmsc.org.

They travel globally where a need exists, taking food to schools, orphanages, clinics and feeding programs. Most recently, Ukraine was added to their list.

“Hunger is still causing nearly half of deaths in children under five years old," stated their website. "From this data, we estimate at least 6,200 children die each day from causes related to under-nutrition.”

Often, one person in a group brings it to the attention of all the rest. For the Colon group it was Burton-Lee.

“Jeanne is such a mission-minded person,” Kuhlmann. “I’m honored to be her pastor.”

Nathan Rasbaugh, youth pastor at LaGrange First Church of God, and a Bronson native, brought about 20 teens. His youth invited friends and some from the football team came along. 

Dawn Wisler who attends Radiant Life Church in Sturgis and is on staff at YFC/Campus Life, was on scene all week at FMSC volunteering her time.

Wednesday was the first day volunteers came, Wisler said. It took several days to set up the operations under the direction of Rustin Krapfl, event host.

By the end of the Michiana event, they expect to have packed 200,000 meals, said Auriella Taylor, volunteer program facilitator. 

“Over 50 pallets is our goal,” Taylor said.