Stop Hunger Now

Chris Jones provided a slideshow where he explained that "Stop Hunger Now" gets food and life-saving aid to the world’s most vulnerable people, and works to end global hunger in our lifetime. Established in 1998, they have provided over 225 million meals in 74 countries. They are based in Raleigh, N.C., and operate throughout the U.S. and through affiliates in developing countries. They also plan on breaking the 275 million mark this coming weekend. Magnolia Rotary Club is helping to do its part by holding a "Stop Hunger Now" event being held Saturday, September 17, 2016, at Magnolia High School from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM.

 

Chris explained that "Stop Hunger Now" is driven by the vision of a world without hunger. Their mission is to end hunger in our lifetime by providing food and life-changing aid to the world’s most vulnerable and creating a global commitment to mobilize the necessary resources. Since there are roughly 795 million people that are still hungry in the world, their goal is to stop all hunger in or world by the year 2030 (14 years from now). In the meantime, Chris explained that 21,000 people across the globe die from starvation every day. That is 7.665 million people every year. "Stop Hunger Now" currently has an impact in 74 countries in the world and the organization is still expanding.

 

Based in Raleigh, N.C., "Stop Hunger Now" operates meal packaging programs at 20 cities in the U.S. and in South Africa, Malaysia, India, Italy, Peru and the Philippines. They have engaged over 500,000 corporate, student, civic and faith-based volunteers in meal packaging. In just under two hours, a group of 40 to 50 volunteers can package 10,152 nutrient-rich meals for the undernourished globally. They also educate volunteers about hunger and inspire them to help end it. Rotary members are by far the largest partner organization and last year at the Seoul Korea International Rotary Meeting, members packaged over 150 thousand meals at the event. Each bag contains freeze dried vegetables, soy protein, and rice. Each bag provides 6 meals to a hungry child.

Chris also explained that filling the packages in not only fun for all involved but it is a service project that matches up with the Rotary Six Areas of Focus. After the presentation, seven members of the Magnolia Rotary Club did a trial run and filled 8 food bags in about 5 minutes. Photos of the practice run can be seen below: