LAKEFIELD -- Volunteers of all ages will gather in the Immanuel Activity Center in Lakefield to pack meals for the hungry with Kids Against Hunger, in the group's sixth annual meal-bagging event.
"We here in the U.S. have such abundance, and this is an opportunity to actively do something," said Marless Cuperus, fundraising coordinator for Jackson County KAH. "You always hear about what's going on in Haiti, what's going on in Pakistan, and it's so overwhelming. You think 'what I do, what can I, as one person, or what can we as a family or group do?' And this is something that you can actually do to help."
Kids Against Hunger uses donations to purchase dried meals of rice, dehydrated vegetables, soy, vitamins and minerals. After being boiled in water for 20 minutes, the water in it is purified and the meal becomes a tasty hotdish, all at the cost of just 13 cents.
Its first year, Jackson County KAH sent its meals to the Gulf coast after Hurricanes Rita and Katrina struck. Last year the meals went to Haiti.
This year, Cuperus said, the meals are going to Pakistan and Honduras.
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"Honduras is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, and our specific KAH satellite has an ongoing mission there," Cuperus explained.
In Honduras, Kids Against Hunger directs its efforts toward street children, who must show up with their own containers for the meals but often don't own bowls or plates. Instead, they show up for food with crushed pop bottles and donated Frisbees, plus a piece of wood for the next day's fire.
"Honduras has at least 800,000 children under the age of 15 that are in extreme poverty, and at least half of those children don't even attend grade school," Cuperus said.
Pakistan is suffering severe hardship because of its recent flooding, which has, according to Cuperus, covered about 20 percent of the nation. Many of the people in the flooded areas have become refugees in their own country.
Last year, Jackson County KAH made its 100,000-meal goal for the first time. The group definitely wants to repeat the feat, but because the cost of meals has risen from 10 cents to 13 cents apiece, KAH has to raise $13,000 this year.
Thus far, it has raised $10,205.
"We are asking everyone who can, whether you can donate a dime or a hundred dollars, to donate what you can," Cuperus said. "We will have donation boxes out at the event, and we also have vortexes out in Jackson."
Avera-McKennan is sponsoring the bagging, having donated $500, and Sanford Health has also donated $500. Other businesses, such as Technical Services for Electronics, of Jackson, will send teams to the meal-bagging event. Southwest Star Concept School's charitable giving class will send 13 students and 2 adults to help out, and St. Paul Lutheran of Fulda will send 30 people too. Immanuel Lutheran's students help at the event every year.
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Last year 273 people helped Kids Against Hunger pack 100,000 meals. This year, Cuperus hopes to get 300 volunteers.
"If you can commit for half an hour and that's all you commit for? Any amount is appreciated, for whatever time you can commit to," Cuperus said. "I'm going to say 'thank you' for a quarter just as much as 'thank you' for a $100. Anything is more than we had before."
Meal packing will be from noon to 5 p.m. today and from 7:30 to 11 a.m. Saturday at Immanuel Activity Center, Lakefield.
Donations to Kids Against Hunger can be sent in care of Marless Cuperus, 909 N. Pleasant St., Lakefield 56150.
