Green Bay MobilePack, with over 7.5 million meals to date, has packed over half a million just this month
By Benjamin Wideman | For On Mission
HOWARD, WI — Caden Kahl may never meet the children he is helping around the world. But if he does, he knows what he would say.
“I would tell them this food was given to them by God and not by us, and that I hope they have a better life and aren’t hungry,” Caden said. “It’s important to give back to the world. God put us here and gave us what we have today so we can help those less fortunate.”
Caden, an eighth grader at St. John the Baptist Catholic School in Howard, was among 3,307 volunteers who participated in Feed My Starving Children (FMSC): Green Bay MobilePack on Oct. 6-9 at Green Bay Community Church.
Founded in 1987, FMSC is a Christian, non-profit organization committed to feeding God’s children, hungry in body and spirit. Volunteers across the country hand-pack meals specially formulated for malnourished children. Those meals are bagged, boxed and distributed to partners around the world who get them in the hands of starving children. FMSC food has reached 112 countries over the years.
Green Bay MobilePack, which began in 2013, has been blessed with more than 31,000 volunteers packing more than 7.5 million meals to date. That includes 676,512 meals packed during the four-day stretch this month.
Each of this month’s eight packing sessions was two hours long and saw an average of more than 410 volunteers per session buzzing with activity as they moved ingredients — rice, soy, dried vegetables and vitamins — to work stations, scooped and weighed those items to be placed in plastic bags as meals, and boxed the completed bags for distribution. Each bag holds six meals.
Area churches partnering for Green Bay MobilePack included St. John the Baptist Parish, Howard; Nativity of Our Lord Parish, Ashwaubenon; St. Matthew Parish, Allouez; Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Howard; St. John Lutheran Church, Ashwaubenon; Bethel Lutheran Church, Green Bay; Green Bay Community Church, Howard; Celebration Church, Green Bay; First Presbyterian Church, Green Bay; and St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, De Pere.
In addition, Green Bay MobilePack welcomed numerous schools, businesses and other organizations who supported the effort.
“It’s wonderful that we get all these different churches and schools and community members working together to do this and help feed starving children,” said Terry Raupp, who has led Green Bay MobilePack efforts for St. John the Baptist Parish since 2017. “The whole community’s outpouring is so great to see.”
Raupp, who has participated every year since Green Bay MobilePack began, said nearly 300 fellow parishioners at his parish helped pack this year. Many other parishioners supported the event financially.
“We have to do fundraising to pay for all of that product we pack,” Raupp said. “At our parish, in particular, we sell tubes of M&Ms, and after people eat the M&Ms, we ask them to fill the empty tubes with quarters. And that money is brought to the church. We also have an aluminum can collection and cookie sale.”
The recent pack marked the 10th year St. John the Baptist Catholic School in Howard participated in Green Bay MobilePack. Representatives included students in grades six through eight and staff members. Many eighth graders, like Caden and his classmate, Kaitlyn Daul, were volunteering for the third straight year.
“Being able to help out is really important,” Kaitlyn said. “It feels good knowing my friends and I packed a lot of meals for children in need. We take a lot for granted here, so being able to go out and do something like this for people who aren’t as privileged as us is important.”
Abbie Withbroe serves as a middle school teacher at St. John the Baptist Catholic School, and she enjoys seeing her students embrace this annual event.
“What’s special about this is that students are actually doing the work,” Withbroe said. “They learn why communities around the world need these meals. They see why it’s relevant and important, and then they actually do the work, physically packing bags and boxes that will get mailed overseas. They get to be the hands of Jesus in that regard.”
“For us as a Catholic school, we always try to instill a sense of service in our students. An activity like this helps students see how necessary it is.”
Citing UNICEF, FMSC states that hunger-related issues cause nearly half of deaths in children younger than age 5 around the world — translating to more than 6,200 child deaths each day from causes related to undernutrition. The organization’s meals are developed by food science and nutrition professionals to supplement nutritional needs and reduce malnutrition issues.
Caden’s mother, Alison Kahl, appreciates the efforts being put forth by so many people, including her son.
“This event is one of the highlights for Caden — something he really looks forward to each year,” she said. “As parents, you bring them up to be humble and realize that things like a nutritious meal are not a guarantee in life, and this shows them that. … Other kids in the world aren’t as fortunate, so as a parent I’m proud he’s helping others.”
Green Bay MobilePack also collected non-perishable food items for local hunger relief. Those food items are donated on a rotation basis to food pantries associated with each partner church.