Volunteers to pack meals for Kids Against Hunger Sunday afternoon

Five area churches are hosting a Kids Against Hunger meal packing session Sunday afternoon in the Word of Life Lutheran Church gym.

Two shifts are planned: 1-2:45 p.m. and 2:45-4:15 p.m.

?Lots of volunteers will be needed Sunday, and everyone is welcome to join us ? for a fun afternoon of fellowship,? said organizer Don Henderson. ?

First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Fairfield Friends Church, First Presbyterian Church and Word of Life Lutheran Church, all in Fairfield, along with Faith United Methodist Church in Libertyville are collaborating on the meal-packing project.

This will be the group?s fourth time working together. Volunteers packed 81,594 meals at the first three events.

The goal for Sunday is to pack 30,000 meals and ? new at this packing event ? to collect nonperishable items for The Lord?s Cupboard.

Kids Against Hunger is a humanitarian food-aid organization with a goal to feed starving children and their families throughout the world. Volunteer groups gather to package a highly nutritious, vitamin-fortified soy-rice dehydrated casserole to distribute to more than 60 countries.

The meal includes six dried vegetables and was created by a team of food scientists to fight the affects of starvation and allow the human body to begin recovery. Each 13.9-ounce bag contains six one-cup meals at the cost of 25 cents per meal.

Kids Against Hunger volunteers in Fairfield are part of a region served by Don Fields?s warehouse in Mt. Pleasant. Fields and his wife Sandee of Brighton operate the southeast Iowa Kids Against Hunger mission.

First Christian Church is the designated contact for Jefferson County. For information, call 472-2520 or 472-4271 or visit the website www.kidsagainsthunger.org.