14 MSMS students spent their Sunday volunteering at First United Methodist Church in partnership with Rise Against Hunger, an organization dedicated to volunteer efforts combating global hunger. Students contributed to the volunteer efforts in critical steps of the hunger relief process: packaging, weighing, and sealing.

A large part of the relief effort consists of initial food preparation, a necessary step to distribute food for transportation to areas in need.

“Students were divided into groups that had three different tasks. The first group consisted of the food packers. These students were responsible of filling the sealable bags. Then, the sealers would seal the bags and place them in shipping boxes,” stated Reyhan Grims, a senior.

“There were about 15 MSMS kids,” described Stephanie Dauber, another senior who volunteered.

“Everyone helped out. It was a very organic distribution of people.”

Liz Huynh, a junior who volunteer, explained her work with Rise Against Hunger on Sunday.

“I worked in all three stations. At first, we didn’t have enough people, so we had to go around and see which station needed help. It was like an assembly line working with MSMS students and others.”

Many students attested to the demanding yet rewarding volunteer work they experienced.

Grims stated, “My favorite part of the program was working through the chaos. With diminishing supplies, an influx of people, and very little instruction, learning how to improvise in this setting became an…interesting experience.”

“I was everywhere all at once for basically 3 hours. So I got some cardio in, which was nice,” Dauber added with a laugh.

Volunteers packaged dehydrated vegetables, vitamin packs, soy, and rice into containers. Rise Against Hunger’s mission is, according their website, to “produce millions of nutritious meals annually that are then distributed to partners in countries around the world.”

Huynh stated, “One little package feeds eight people, and that’s powerful. It takes less than one minute to make a package. ”

“While volunteering, I learned how much I could make a difference by performing a small task. Just by simply packing a bag with less than a pound of food, we could provide eight meals for starving people. Eight meals! That’s enough to feed at least two families in need,” stated Grims.

“It’s inspiring to see that hope in the world,” concluded Huynh.

Gallery • 3 Photos

Mariat Thankachan

MSMS volunteers worked alongside community members at the Rise Against Hunger service event on Sunday.