On Feb. 14, 2019, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School offered students a chance to give back to the community through  “A Day of Service and Love.” Feed My Starving Children, organized by Global Impact, a Minnesota-based, Christian, non-profit organization, was one of the many projects that took place that day on campus.

Headed by Andy Carr, Vice President of Marketing and Development, Feed My Starving Children aims to provide scientifically formulated meals for thousands of malnourished children across the world.

“Feed Our Starving Children empathizes with what occurred here tragically at Stoneman Douglas. And so whenever there is a loss of life, we’re disheartened; we’re saddened by that,” Carr said. “But we know that what we can offer is hope. We can offer hope to this community, to come together in a way that makes a difference, that helps people feel energized.”

Around 100 students gathered in the gym to assemble meals using the raw ingredients and packing materials provided by Global Impact. Packing stations including vitamins, vegetables, soy and rice were established within groups of volunteers who were tasked with scooping the ingredients into bags.

Other teams were in charge of weighing those bags in order to make sure they contained enough for at least six meals. Finally, those bags were sealed, boxed and placed on a palette.

“I felt good, I was giving back to the community,” senior Megan Chou said. “The general atmosphere was very friendly.”

Each box contains 36 bags, which is equivalent to 216 meals. They are taken to one of Global Impact’s many warehouses and then they are shipped to over 70 countries around the globe. At MSD, students packed a total of 77,000 meals.

“I think today’s [Day of Service] is a really good idea, and I would honestly much rather be doing this than just sitting at home and thinking about sad things and it really put me in a good mood,” sophomore Hannah Kravec said.

Global Impact also set up stations at  Pine Trails Park where students and other community members could also volunteer to pack meals. 

“I came because I thought it’d be [a] really great way to give back to the community”, sophomore Noa Livini said.

The Feed My Starving Children project provided students with an outlet to cope with their own struggles through the opportunity of giving back to others in need of their next meal. 

This story was originally published in the April 2019 Eagle Eye print edition.