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World Food Day: Volunteer Finds Joy in Assembling Meals for Families in Need, Encourages Others to Join The Pack Oct. 16 and 17
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Oct. 14, 2026) – When Anna Gontko volunteers at this year’s Join The Pack, Food For The Poor’s (FFTP) meal-packing event in celebration of World Food Day, she’ll bring a spirit of teamwork and passion for service.
“It’s such a fun way to help others,” she said. “You receive so much more than you give.”
Organized through a partnership between FFTP and Feed My Starving Children (FMSC), the two-day event on Oct. 16 and 17 aims to recruit 1,000 volunteers to assemble 101,088 nutritious MannaPack meals for vulnerable children and families in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Join The Pack will feature four packing sessions at Community Christian Church, 10001 W. Commercial Blvd., in Tamarac:
- • Friday, Oct. 16, from 1 to 3 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m.
- • Saturday, Oct. 17, from 9 to 11 a.m. and noon to 2 p.m.
Volunteers ages 5 and up can register now at www.foodforthepoor.org/jointhepack and choose a two-hour packing session. No experience is required.
FFTP encourages individuals, families, businesses, churches, schools, and community groups to participate. Join The Pack gives volunteers a hands-on way to help address food insecurity.
Community Christian Church is partnering with FFTP for the second consecutive year to host Join The Pack, welcoming volunteers from its congregation and the greater community to participate. More than 700 volunteers took part in FFTP’s Join The Pack Jamaica at the church in 2025, packing 124,416 MannaPack meals over two days to support families recovering from Hurricane Melissa.
Gontko volunteered at last year’s event. Shortly afterward, she saw a video from Jamaica of the food being distributed and recipients expressing their gratitude for the support.
“It was a full-circle moment,” she said. “When you get a ‘thank you’ back, when you know they received it and it helped them in their time of need – that’s a blessing.”
FFTP works with trusted partners, including FMSC, to provide meals to hundreds of thousands of people every day. Since 2006, FFTP has provided more than 4.69 billion meals to malnourished children and their families, including more than 76.19 million meals in the first six months of 2026. Since 2009, FFTP and FMSC, a Christian nonprofit organization based in Coon Rapids, Minn., have partnered to provide meals for families in need, together delivering more than 95 million meals annually in the last five years alone.
During packing sessions, volunteers fill plastic bags with cups of rice and soy, freeze-dried vegetables, and flavoring containing essential vitamins and nutrients. Each bag provides six servings and can be prepared with boiling water
A resident of Cooper City, Fla., Gontko’s commitment to volunteering at organized community events is rooted in her faith and belief that people can take responsibility for making a difference. She has volunteered throughout her life, including through her church and at the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, where she served nearly 24 years before retiring in November 2025.
She has encouraged friends to attend this year’s Join The Pack event, and she’s also looking forward to meeting new people and working alongside them.
“I want to make it fun,” Gontko said. “I want it to be joy, not just for those who get to receive the food that we pack, but for those of us who are donating, whether it’s time, talent, or treasure.”
Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the United States, is committed to facilitating paths out of poverty and transforming lives. As an interdenominational Christian ministry, we help families across Latin America and the Caribbean. Our efforts span urgent humanitarian relief and long-term development – from emergency aid and hunger alleviation to education, housing, and economic empowerment. We follow a distinctive approach that integrates faith, multi-sector strategies, and trusted partnerships. Whenever possible, we strive to work at the community level, partnering with local leaders and residents to co-create sustainable solutions that address the multi-dimensional nature of poverty. For more information, please visit foodforthepoor.org.
Ernestine Williams
Communications
305-321-7342
[email protected]
