Church assembles 900 to send meals to Haiti
Assembly lines formed Saturday around the massive AMI Bearings warehouse in Mount Prospect, but instead of mounted bearings and locking devices, it was food mixtures being processed.
Nearly 900 volunteers are expected to work in shifts through today. They'll pack individual meal packets designed to feed severely malnourished children served by the nonprofit Christian organization, Feed My Starving Children.
If all goes well, organizers expect to package 200,000 meals, to be shipped to children in Haiti.
Volunteers like Bill Strahle, Jean Dix and Holger Fack, all of Mount Prospect, scooped portions of rice, soy, dehydrated vegetables, and vegetarian chicken flavoring mixed with 20 vitamins and minerals, all into a giant funnel that emptied into plastic packets.
More Coverage Video " class="mediaItem">Feeding the hunger
"Hit me," JoAnn Morris, of Mount Prospect, said before each new portion was delivered.
From there, the next volunteers weighed the packets before handing them off to be sealed and boxed.
"You can't get any better than this," Fack added, as his group bonded together during their two-hour shift.
Members of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Mount Prospect took on the project, and mobilized the volunteers. They drew from their own worshippers, and those from nearby churches, neighbors, co-workers, Scout troops, and teens from Prospect, Hersey and St. Viator high schools.
"We were looking to do something meaningful," said Carol Chan of Prospect Heights, who pitched the idea to her congregation. "This was a hands-on project that we found has benefited the workers as much as the children it helps."
They needed to move the project from the church campus to the warehouse, for its size and foundation. The church has a suspended floor, officials said, and it would not bear the weight of the nearly two tons of raw materials to be packaged.
"We were looking for an opportunity to touch the lives of others, and when we heard about this, about being able to help starving children get nutrition, it seemed like a simple thing we could do," added Mike Frey of Arlington Heights.
Each year, Feed My Starving Children distributes 40 million meals to children in 52 countries, though Haiti receives the most meals, said Beatrice Pedersen, Chicago development director.
Volunteers interested in helping today, may show up for shifts at 8:30 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., at AMI Bearings, 570 N. Wheeling Road, Mount Prospect.