Looking for an activity to do in the next few months guaranteed to make your summer memorable?
Even more, something you can do locally that will make a true impact in the world?
How about giving some of your free time to Feed My Starving Children, the nonprofit that sends life-saving food around the world – and does so right here in Aurora, as well as in Libertyville and Schaumburg.
Feed My Starving Children needs your help. Now more than ever.
The time between May and September tends to be slower for many nonprofits, of course, because schools and other groups aren’t in session and folks tend to be busier or are taking vacations.
For example, regular volunteer numbers are down at Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry, but with high school kids needing service hours and college kids home, “we’re muddling through,” said Executive Director Katie Arko.
On a global scale, however, noted Feed My Starving Children Chief Operating Officer Lisa Stender, demand for food tends to increase during this time, known as “the lean season” – a period between harvests when food scarcity reaches its peak in many vulnerable areas of the world.
While hunger can be hard to quantify, those who track these issues say it is increasing by 10%, said Feed My Starving Children spokesperson Julie Smith, adding that the group has seen a 43% increase in new requests so far this fiscal year (starting March 1) compared to this time last year.
And about half as many volunteers come into the packing rooms in the summer months compared to peak volunteer season in November and December, she continued.
“We love to see full volunteer sessions during the holidays — so we don’t want to discourage people from coming during those months — but the reality is that hunger doesn’t take a summer vacation,” Smith told me.
According to its website, Feed My Starving Children estimates at least 6,200 children die each day around the world from causes related to what they term “under-nutrition.” So yes, “critical” is the word the group uses to describe the need for more volunteers.
The good news is that getting involved could not be more simple. Go to FMSC.org/volunteer.
There, you will be guided through an easy-to-use sign-up process that offers plenty of choices. Come by yourself if that works best, or go with a group of family and friends to pack these meals that are all donated and cost a mere 29 cents each.
“We have volunteers as young as 5 and some who are older than 100 … we’ve had schoolchildren, church groups, special needs groups, corporate groups, bridal showers and birthday parties,” Smith said.
“What they all have in common is the desire to make a difference.”
Stender described the volunteer shifts as “fun, hands-on and deeply impactful,” with each session capable of producing hundreds of nutritional meals that include rice, veggies, soy and vitamins.
It’s a formula designed to “fill in the gap of malnutrition” that is culturally acceptable and health-certified, said Smith, who also pointed out that Feed My Starving Children receives the highest ranking as a nonprofit, with 88% of donations going to meal production.
While federal cuts to global nonprofits have impacted the work they do “in terms of tone and culture,” she said, Feed My Staving Children is “apolitical” and receives no government help.
However, Smith added, all Feed My Starving Children meals are distributed through partner organizations that rely heavily on government funding. Which means that federal cutbacks are having a “big impact with results that will roll out over the course of time.
“Most of our partners,” she said, “are still figuring out the impact and repercussions, which could take months or even years.”
But for now Feed My Starving Children is focused on the next 90 days or so.
“This is when we need our communities the most,” Stender said.
dcrosby@tribpub.com