Feed My Starving Children

Sam Moser presented the Club with information regarding the wonderful efforts of the Feed My Starving Children organization (FMSC) as they help address starvation in the world. He started his presentation addressing some of the questions people ask about FMSC and their programs.

Asked about why Feed My Starving Children does not deliver aid to people in the United States. Sam indicated that although there are malnourished children in the United States, there are no starving children in the United States. Hurricane Katrina is one exception where FMSC did send aid.

Since the aid provided by FMSC are food packets, another question they are asked frequently is from the old adage, 'Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.' Many wonder why FMSC does not devote more resources to 'teaching the families to fish' instead of just giving them food. Sam stated that in many cases, the kids would not survive the time it takes to learn the skill of growing or hunting for food. FMSC does work with other organizations that do provide these other types of services.

In countries where the food is distributed, children are provided with two meals a day from the FMSC food packets. Sam said that in these locales, people who eat twice a day are considered rich.

Originally, they tried distributing the regular cereal products produced by companies like General Mills and Pillsbury. It turned out these products were too high in carbohydrates and made the kids sick. FMSC then decided to work with the food scientists at General Mills and Pillsbury to develop a 'product' that would provide a complete balanced diet for starving and disadvantaged children. General Mills and Pillsbury were more than happy to cooperate with this effort and even donated the scientists' time. What they developed consists mostly of rice with some soy for protein and other necessary vitamins and minerals. This is ideal for worldwide distribution as rice is a universal staple that everyone knows how to prepare and, since there are no meat or dairy ingredients, there are no cultural or religious concerns to deal with.

Although there are other paths it could have chosen, FMSC only uses volunteers to package the food for distribution. They strongly believe that this helps build awareness for their mission.

For distribution of the food packets, FMSC does not work with foreign governments. They believe this raises the cost of distribution oftentimes because of the paperwork involved, not to mention corruption issues. Instead FMSC partners with other organizations or works directly with missions, churches, schools, orphanages and hospitals. FMSC requires that these other organizations handle all the shipping expense, customs and other items required to receive the boxes of food packets.

Sam said the FMSC has experienced a 25% increase in requests for aid. He believes this is because other charities have cut back. He also said that demand is also being driven up because this program is so successful and has made such an impact in so many different areas.

We are fortunate to have FMSC location in Aurora. Groups of 10 or more can register to volunteer to pack the food by going on-line at www.fmsc.org.

During the question and answer segment Sam was asked what the food product tastes like. We were told it is similar to Rice-A-Roni without all the salt. Sam was also asked about the cost of the food. Sam indicated each meal is about 17¢. Sam also indicated that about 95% of the funds they raise goes towards creating the meal packets and getting them on their way to their final destination. Sam also mentioned that he hopes world hunger is the next big effort undertaken by Rotary International once polio has been successfully eradicated world wide.