Wilmington community lend hand and hearts to help feed hungry families

300 volunteers hand packed 50,000 meals over weekend

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) – Nearly 300 volunteers show up for the food packaging event over the weekend.

Nearly 300 people gathered at the St. James Episcopal Church Saturday to package 50,000 meals to send off to Nicaragua, Haiti, the and Dominican Republic.

Teams of about five were stationed at a table to fill bags with protein-packed ingredients consisting of vegetables, rice, and a soy blend which were then boxed to be shipped out.

The Rise Against Hunger packaging event was a way for the community to bond, give back and help end hunger.

Something siblings Tristan and Marceline Dodson say makes them feel good.

“My dad likes to do a lot of stuff for the community,” said Tristan. “He thought it would be nice if we come to the church and help do some community work to help people in need because he feels very fortunate with what we have so we like to do lots of community work.”

“We like doing giving back,” his sister Marceline said.

According to partnership Manager Jennifer Fueston, people around the world are experiencing extreme hunger and malnutrition, some have had to resort to eating mud pies to help curb hunger pangs.

She said, it’s energizing to have so many people willing to come out on a beautiful day to volunteer.

“So, it’s just amazing to be with the people of St. James packaging 50,000 meals,” she said. “Eight-hundred-twenty-five-million people, according to the World Health Organization are suffering from hunger around the world, and our goal is to end that lifetime.”

For those who’d like to organize a food packaging event can reach out to Rise Against Hunger here.