Today I

participated in a food packing event called Feed My Starving Children. We packed over 25,000 meals in two hours, and the volunteers ranged from 5 years old to 70, and all religions and races. I signed up with Hillel, and I am proud to say that the Cornell Jewish Community had a strong showing!

The meals are packed like this: a scoop of chicken flavoring, a scoop of dehydrated vegetables, a cup of soy protein, and a cup of rice. This all goes through a funnel and into a bag, which is then weighed and sealed. We box up 36 bags at a time (each bag makes 6 meals of about 250 calories each). There are about 8 volunteers at each station.

Feed My Starving Children is a Christian organization, and the bags of food are called "Manna Packs." We said a prayer as we loaded up the truck with boxes, and much of the distribution work is done by missionaries. Service is a beautiful way for religions to intersect, and this was no exception. I felt very spiritually fulfilled as I walked back to campus from the church.

This was my second year participating, and I'm sure I will participate again next year and hopefully in the future. If you ever hear of a Feed My Starving Children event in your area, please volunteer and/or donate!

The picture shows me with my friends Adina and Meredith, other Hillel Student Board members!