When pastor Dan Johnson accompanied some Hilmar Covenant Church high-schoolers to their triennial conference in Tennessee in 2006 and 2009, one activity they participated in was packing meals for hungry children around the world.
Run by Feed My Starving Children, a nonprofit Christian organization, the meal packets contain the dried ingredients for a thick, oatmeal-like meal. The packets are boxed and shipped to orphanages and medical clinics around the world and fed to children, many of whom otherwise would starve to death.
"It's such a practical way of making a difference of feeding the hungry in the world," Johnson said.
He wanted to bring the program to his church. But when he called a Covenant church in the Midwest that had sponsored the program, Johnson was disappointed to discover that the much-larger church had to first guarantee it would raise at least $20,000.
"We're a small church," Johnson said. "I didn't know how we'd ever be able to raise that much money, so we didn't pursue it."
Then he heard of a church about the size of Hilmar Covenant that had successfully run the program. Hilmar Covenant's council approved it in September 2010 and a committee was set up to coordinate the fund-raising.
The initial goal was $24,000, which would provide 100,000 meals. To raise that, the church gave tubes of M&Ms to sister churches and other sites. People take a tube for a $1 donation, then eat the candy and refill the tubes with $14 in quarters.
Individuals and businesses also have contributed funds, and ads have been sold to commemorate birthdays, anniversaries, memorials to loved ones and other interests.
Three businesses set up matching grants — Hilmar Cheese Co., $3,000; an anonymous Hilmar company, $5,000; and Associated Feed of Turlock, $3,000. "We've met all those goals," Johnson said.
In fact, the church has exceeded its initial target and as of last week had taken in about $39,000.
"Our committee at an early meeting said we wanted to raise $72,000, which would package 300,000 meals," Johnson said. "We call it our God-sized miracle goal; we're past the halfway mark to reach that."
But there's only another month for fund-raising. On Jan. 20-21, the church will be packing the goods, and the amount it raises by mid-January will determine how many bags, boxes and dried ingredients will be trucked to the church.
In addition to funds, the church will need several teams of 20 people to pack the bags, which contain four items put together by nutritionists: dried vegetables, soy protein powder, vitamin powder with "all kinds of nutrients" and chicken bouillon. If the church raises the full $72,000, it will need nearly 1,500 volunteers.
Feed My Starving Children sends the packets to about 70 countries around the world, "where there's a lot of poverty," Johnson said.
Closer to the event, the church will be told which specific sites will receive its packets, and follow-up information will tell the church when the packets arrive.
"There are amazing stories on the Feed My Starving Children Web site (www.fmsc.org) about how helpful these are to little kids, how some were close to death and how they become healthy again," Johnson said. "All of these packets go to children. And the organization continues to send food to the same places, so the kids aren't fed one month and not the next."
For the moment, the Hilmar effort needs funds to buy the packets, which cost just 24 cents each. People can pick up M&M tubes from Modesto Covenant Church in Modesto or from Hilmar Covenant Church. They also can simply send a check made out to H.C.C. with the words "Feed My Starving Children" on the memo line.
Advertisements, which will be shown on large screens and given out in booklets during the packing event, can be purchased from the church's Web site and also benefit the project.
Johnson said no one has expressed concerns about supporting a program run by a religious group. "Although this is a Christian organization, there's no proselytizing," he said of the program. "It's just Christian people coming together to help hungry kids everywhere, regardless of their race, creed or religion."
Besides funds, Johnson said the church has begun sign-ups on its Web site for volunteers needed for two-hour shifts on the packing days.
"The bottom line is, it's a very fun event," he said. "People from children age 5 through senior citizens can come. High school kids can get up to two hours of community-service credit. It's going to be a lot of work, but it's going to be exciting. Plus, you're doing something significant toward world hunger."
Hilmar Covenant Church is at 20056 American Ave. and the Web site is www.hilmarcovenant.org. For more information, call (209) 668-0400.
Bee staff writer Sue Nowicki can be reached at (209) 578-2012 or snowicki@modbee.com.
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