Packing power: Students, families to help battle global, local hunger

Center Grove Elementary School youngsters have collected canned goods for the needy and had penny wars to help a children’s hospital.

Now, they want to help people who are hungry again.

Kids Against Hunger, a nationwide food-aid organization, is working with seven area Methodist churches to organize a massive meal-packing event this weekend. Student council members at the elementary school will help pack meals. A sixth-grade girl’s basketball team will help. Senior citizens will measure and pack rice.

The nonprofit organization puts together nutritional meals of rice, vitamins and dehydrated vegetables and sends them to local food pantries and Third World countries.

Volunteers are still needed for Saturday’s packing event, which is billed as a family volunteer event.

“We want this to be a community event,” said Amy Shockley, communications coordinator at Mount Auburn United Methodist Church.

Congregations at seven local churches raised the money for the packing event. With fish fries and Sunday offerings, they raised enough to pay for 70,000 meals.

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