The Oxford community packed 170,160 meals this weekend to go to people in need around the world.
Volunteers scoop portions of beans and rice into bags at Pack-A-Thon “Feed The Hunger” event Sunday at Oxford Middle School. (Photo by: Ariel Cobbert)
Feed the Hunger’s Pack-A-Thon is held across the country in which volunteers gather to put together meal packs consisting of rice, soy protein or dehydrated pinto beans, dehydrated vegetables and vitamin powder.
Feed the Hunger is an evangelical mission organization that works to connect local and international strategic leaders seeking to fulfill spiritual and physical hunger of those in need.
Ole Miss’ chapter of the organization will deliver the meals packaged Friday and Saturday to Kenya, Asia, Haiti, Kentucky and the Oxford community. They also collected food donations for Love Packs and More Than a Meal, local food organizations in the Oxford-Lafayette community.
More than 700 volunteers volunteers participated Friday and Saturday for the sixth annual Pack-A-Thon at Oxford Middle School.
Molly Kathryn Barber, freshman integrated marketing communications major, said she enjoyed her experience working with Feed the Hunger.
“I liked the fun environment and seeing everyone from different organizations come together for an awesome cause,” Barber said.
Energy was high in the room as Ole Miss students and members of the Oxford community worked together in assembly lines to assemble meal packs. Sophomore psychology major Cayla Hari was the chairman for Feed the Hunger this year. She said her favorite part of Pack-A-Thon was seeing everyone work hard to get the kids fed.
“It’s been really heartwarming and just incredible to watch,” Hari said.
According to the Feed the Hunger, $65 feeds a child for a year, so organizations and individuals sponsored tables at the event to raise money for the cause. Overall, they raised $46,700.
Just during the shift on Saturday from noon to 2 p.m., 60,940 meals were packed, which will feed 254 children a day for a year, according to Melinda Staples, a representative from Feed the Hunger. This year, Ole Miss students will travel to Haiti for spring break and deliver some of the meals packaged this weekend.
Since 2011, when Pack-A-Thon started at Ole Miss, a total of 839,266 meals have been packed here in Oxford.
