Volunteers prepare meals for hungry children in Africa

How many people does it take to pack 3.5 million meals for undernourished children in Zimbabwe?

The answer: about 15,000 volunteers throughout the Chicago area, who hope to pack enough meals this month to feed 10,000 hungry children for a year.

A South Barrington church and a Minneapolis-based charity have partnered to set up 24 events throughout the Chicago area where volunteers will pack the meals in two-hour shifts.

The effort is part of Willow Creek Community Church's annual Celebration of Hope. The third annual Celebration aims to heighten awareness of hunger and take concrete steps to alleviate global hunger.

In two hours, one volunteer can pack enough meals to feed one child for nine months. Each meal includes rice, protein, vegetables, vitamins and minerals.

"To feed that many children for a whole year and to make that kind of impact is really unbelievable," Willow Creek spokeswoman Susan DeLay said.

Several events have already passed, but there are still 17 more over the next four weeks. For a full list and to sign up, go to www.willowcreek.org/COH08/dates.asp.

Many of the events, organized by Willow Creek pastors and members throughout the suburbs, are already full.

About 800 volunteers have already signed up to pack meals at Algonquin's Eastview Elementary School on May 3 and 4.

The volunteers at Eastview will pack about 189,000 meals over the two days.

"We're just a small cog in that whole machine," said Susan Unruh, an Eastview teacher who helped organize the event. "It's just a fabulous, unprecedented serving opportunity."