Fighting hunger in Sleepy Eye, MN

69,246 meals prepared for the world’s hungry

Sleepy Eye, MN - In September, about 250 people of all ages gathered in the St. Mary’s, Sleepy Eye, MN fieldhouse to help weigh, seal and package 69,246 meals for starving people all over the world.

The program that is in the forefront of this project is Kids Against Hunger, and the people of the Stewart Satellite of Feeding Children International. They came to Sleepy Eye with all the ingredients and equipment needed for the meals using their mobile packaging unit. According to their web site, feedingchildrenstewart.org, the Stewart Satellite was started in April of 2003 with the leadership of Feeding Children International in New Hope. Each satellite that is added is able to enhance the Kids Against Hunger campaign by adding a mobile packaging unit. The unit enables Kids Against Hunger to offer the opportunity of producing the fully nutritious meal supplement to anyone or any community within 50 miles of Stewart.

"We will really go anywhere," said John Neisen, a board member from Feeding Children International/

Stewart. The idea came from Rich Mages, St. Mary’s parish council chairman, who works in Stewart and thought this should be done in Sleepy Eye. Deb Fischer, sister of Rich Mages, was enlisted to do the advertising for this event. The event was promoted in the Area Faith Communities church bulletins, in the Chamber of Commerce newsletter, and ads were run in local newspapers in the surrounding area.

A record number of meals were packaged by volunteers from Sleepy Eye and Comfrey who worked in two, two-hour shifts to package a simple meal that costs about ten cents, but has made a world of difference in the lives of over 1,000,000 people to date.

The ingredients of the meal were developed using a number of sources, including the team from Kids Against Hunger, Cargill, Pillsbury, General Mills and Archer Daniels Midland. The packet, containing rice, fortified soy, protein, vitamins and minerals, dehydrated vegetables, chicken flavoring, salt and fat, is designed to reverse the starvation process, help restore health, and improve a child’s mental and physical alertness. The cost of the meals is donated by volunteers, civic organizations, sponsors, mission funds and youth groups. So far, food has been donated to Guatemala, Romania, Uganda, and Malawi. Soon shipments will be made to Kosovo, Philippines, Kenya and Haiti.

One hundred percent of the donations go to buy the ingredients and bags for the mixture to be placed in. Mages stated donations came from local and outside people and organizations. There was also a second Sunday collection at St. Mary’s.

Another Kids Against Hunger during Lent is in discussion.

Courtesy of Sleepy Eye Herald Dispatch.