Food For The Poor Needs Volunteers to Pack Meals for Ukraine
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (June 23, 2022) Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the situation has become more dire for families forced to leave their homes and, in many cases, flee the country.
One out of three households in Ukraine is food insecure, according to the United Nations World Food Programme.
Food insecurity is defined broadly as when people have trouble meeting their basic food needs, sometimes cutting other necessities in order to provide food.
In March, just weeks after the invasion, Food For The Poor announced it was working through longtime partner Feed My Starving Children to help the people of Ukraine and provide support for food aid consisting of MannaPack rice meals.
But the need for critical humanitarian aid has only increased since then. In interviews with more than 4,700 Ukrainians to understand how the war has impacted their lives, 42 percent responded they were worried about having enough food to eat in the next week, the World Food Programme found.
That’s why FFTP is calling on South Florida churches, businesses, community groups and like-minded individuals ages 5 and up to pack meals at Join The Pack Ukraine on Saturday, July 23, at FAU Arena in Boca Raton.
Three packing sessions are available including: 9 to 11 a.m., noon to 2 p.m. and 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. All participants must register in advance.
Lou Bachrodt Chevrolet Pompano Beach has signed on to be the first sponsor of the event. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available.
“The situation has only become more grave for these families since we initially began working with Feed My Starving Children,” FFTP President/CEO Ed Raine said. “That’s why it’s more important than ever that we ask for the community’s support in coming together on July 23 to help us pack these meals.”
At Join The Pack Ukraine, each volunteer will be assigned a task – scooping, spooning, weighing, sealing and boxing MannaPack rice meals in a fun, high-energy, team-building environment. Once made with boiling water, the meals are an answer to countless prayers, like manna from heaven.
In addition to packing meals, the event will raise funds to cover the cost of shipping the meals and provide ongoing humanitarian aid in Ukraine and surrounding areas where refugees have fled.
More than 13 million people in Ukraine have been displaced since the war began, with over 6 million, mostly women and children, fleeing to neighboring countries.
Ukraine is the breadbasket of Europe, providing an extra quantity of crops that not only feed the Ukraine but are exported to many countries. However, Russian blockades of Ukraine’s critical seaports and seizure of vital agricultural regions have prevented Ukraine from shipping its crops to international markets, exacerbating a global food crisis.
The relationship between FFTP and Feed My Starving Children, a Christian nonprofit organization based in Coon Rapids, Minn., goes back many years and has grown exponentially. Since 2009, the partnership has added up to almost 1.2 billion meals.
The conflict in Ukraine began in 2014 but ratcheted up into a full-blown war when Russia invaded the country on February 24. Feed My Staving Children has been working with Mission Eurasia, a group of more than 3,500 pastors. In the last eight years, they have established a foothold and delivered more than 12.5 million meals to this area of the world.
For more information on Join The Pack Ukraine, including sponsorship opportunities, call 888-404-4248. Register for the event at www.FoodForThePoor.org/jointhepack.
Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry children and families living in poverty primarily in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicine, educational materials, homes, support for vulnerable children, care for the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Michael Turnbell
Communications Associate
954-471-0928 – mobile
[email protected]
