Feed My Starving Children raises $640,000 at 'Hunger to Hope' event

Nearly 1,100 attended the April 23 Feed My Starving Children "Hunger to Hope" gala, raising $640,000 for the hunger relief charity.

The event, held at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center, featured a unique performance art painting display, auction and inspirational speakers.

Monies raised will fund the volunteer-packed, nutritious meals that are distributed in 70 countries. These meals are specifically designed to reverse and prevent malnutrition and are used in schools, orphanages, clinics and feeding programs to break the cycle of poverty.

Feed My Starving Children has permanent packing facilities in Aurora, Schaumburg and Libertyville, as well as three in Minnesota and one in Arizona. Last year, 418,000 Chicago area volunteers packed 112 million meals.

Overall in 2015, Feed My Starving Children welcomed more than a million volunteers to pack 273 million meals through its permanent sites and nationwide MobilePack program. The Minnesota-based charity spends 90 percent of total donations directly on feeding the hungry and has earned the highest 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for 11 consecutive years. Visit fmsc.org for more information.