On Jan. 26, Campus Ministry’s Justice and Service team hosted a Then Feed Just One food packaging event.
This event gave many in the Northwestern community the opportunity to take part in the mission of the Then Feed Just One organization, a “not-for-profit corporation with a mobile food packaging program that packages lifesaving nutritious meals for starving children and their families in Honduras, Central America.”
Patrick Hummel, director of missions for NW Campus Ministry, explained that “Much of the food packaged goes to hospitals which enable them to provide nutritious meals for their patients, particularly children.”
Students, coaches, faculty and staff volunteered to go to the RSC on Thursday evening to scoop, seal and stack pouches of food, ready to be cooked and made into meals upon reaching their destination. The National Championship football team contributed to the event by setting up tables and unloading the supplies. Gabe Rathbun, a leader on the Justice and Service team, said, “Everyone there was very important to make this event a success.”
Additionally, the food provider on campus, Creative Dining, played a vital role by paying for the event. “Much credit goes to our food provider, Creative Dining. Monthly they donate to a fund that is used to address issues of food scarcity, malnutrition and hunger,” Hummel said.
Malnutrition leaves children physically and intellectually weak, preventing them from reaching their full human potential. Therefore, the provision of food to malnourished children not only alleviates their hunger, but can also help them break free from the entrapping cycle of poverty.
Malnutrition negatively impacts more than just the financial wellness of children in Honduras. It is deadly. According to the Then Just Feed One website, “malnutrition is the underlying cause of more than 1/3 of all childhood deaths.”
However, the NW community played a role in changing the numbers of malnourished children in Honduras, with an evening of service. By the end of the night, volunteers had packed 30,024 meals – 24 meals over the original goal set for the event.
“Serving others just by doing this little bit helps those who are not as fortunate to have food to get nutritional food in their bodies,” Rathbun said, “they will not go hungry for a few meals.”
The food that Then Just Feed One provides through the volunteer work done at each food packaging event plays an important role in the early life of thousands of Honduran children.
Members of the NW community participated in the organization’s mission that stems from a quote by Mother Teresa: “if you cannot feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”
