FMSC Assembles Food Packs Headed For Haiti Hurricane Victims
October 6, 2016 at 5:19 p.m.
By -
But with Hurricane Matthew already causing devastation in Haiti – and now barreling toward Florida – a purpose for the four-day effort in Winona Lake became pretty clear.
As nearly 400 volunteers worked to assemble the food packs Wednesday night at Grace College’s Gordon Rec Center, Scott Sterk, a local organizer for FMSC, announced that a truckload of food packs – as many as 272,000 meals – would leave Winona Lake Saturday and head straight to a port that will take the food to Haiti.
That development came after a another local group, Allowing Christ To Shine, which works with FMSC and focuses its work in Haiti, cast an urgent plea from Clark Shepherd, the president of ACTS.
ACTS is one of many groups that FMSC coordinates with to reach the most needy people.
“He called yesterday and said because of the hurricane, my people on the ground in Haiti are desperate. We need a container as soon as possible,” said Sterk.
Sterk said he is unaware of such a situation in which food from a volunteer event was sent directly to a disaster site.
“There’s always a big need, but the need is a lot more urgent right now,” Sterk said.
Officials have been watching developments for a few days and anticipated the decision would likely happen.
“They plan for these ahead of time as much as you can,” said Kirstie Sherman, a mobile pack development advisor with FMSC, who was working this morning at the rec center.
Each meal comes with vitamin powder, dehydrated vegetables, soy protein and rice and are culturally accepted worldwide, Sterk said.
“Nutritionists have found that it’s the perfect blend for a malnourished body. If we just started feeding them regular types of food, the body would reject it, especially those who are in the worst kind of shape,” Sterk said.
Sterk anticipates an influx of assistance because of the hurricane.
While there is still a need for more volunteers at the MobilePack event, there remains a bigger need for donations, Sterk said.
Donations have been down a little this year, he said.
This afternoon, several hundred students from area schools were expected to help at the rec center.
The volunteer effort continues through Saturday.
Wednesday’s announcement drew cheers from the volunteers.
Haiti is considered one of the poorest, most needed parts of the world.
“These are people who have literally nothing and no means to help themselves. If all people can do is donate a couple hours, that literally saves lives,” he said.
To learn more, go to warsawmobilepack.com or fmsc.org.
Latest News
E-Editions
But with Hurricane Matthew already causing devastation in Haiti – and now barreling toward Florida – a purpose for the four-day effort in Winona Lake became pretty clear.
As nearly 400 volunteers worked to assemble the food packs Wednesday night at Grace College’s Gordon Rec Center, Scott Sterk, a local organizer for FMSC, announced that a truckload of food packs – as many as 272,000 meals – would leave Winona Lake Saturday and head straight to a port that will take the food to Haiti.
That development came after a another local group, Allowing Christ To Shine, which works with FMSC and focuses its work in Haiti, cast an urgent plea from Clark Shepherd, the president of ACTS.
ACTS is one of many groups that FMSC coordinates with to reach the most needy people.
“He called yesterday and said because of the hurricane, my people on the ground in Haiti are desperate. We need a container as soon as possible,” said Sterk.
Sterk said he is unaware of such a situation in which food from a volunteer event was sent directly to a disaster site.
“There’s always a big need, but the need is a lot more urgent right now,” Sterk said.
Officials have been watching developments for a few days and anticipated the decision would likely happen.
“They plan for these ahead of time as much as you can,” said Kirstie Sherman, a mobile pack development advisor with FMSC, who was working this morning at the rec center.
Each meal comes with vitamin powder, dehydrated vegetables, soy protein and rice and are culturally accepted worldwide, Sterk said.
“Nutritionists have found that it’s the perfect blend for a malnourished body. If we just started feeding them regular types of food, the body would reject it, especially those who are in the worst kind of shape,” Sterk said.
Sterk anticipates an influx of assistance because of the hurricane.
While there is still a need for more volunteers at the MobilePack event, there remains a bigger need for donations, Sterk said.
Donations have been down a little this year, he said.
This afternoon, several hundred students from area schools were expected to help at the rec center.
The volunteer effort continues through Saturday.
Wednesday’s announcement drew cheers from the volunteers.
Haiti is considered one of the poorest, most needed parts of the world.
“These are people who have literally nothing and no means to help themselves. If all people can do is donate a couple hours, that literally saves lives,” he said.
To learn more, go to warsawmobilepack.com or fmsc.org.
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092