Michelle Peterson/Winonan

Winona State University students helped feed 83 children three meals per day for a year by packing food with Feed My Starving Children (FMSC).

About 30 students from the food and nutrition club and two nutrition classes volunteered with the organization at the beginning of October.

Gabey Davis, a member of the food and nutrition club, said she didn’t know what to expect, but the staff from Feed My Starving Children was very enthusiastic.

“Any time we would finish packing a box we had to holler out what number we were packing, so it was kind of like a competition,” Davis said.

Davis said the most memorable thing is that it only costs about 20 cents per meal for FMSC.

“I was amazed by the community that came together just for our shift, how much everyone donated, how much service everyone put in, and how excited everyone was to be there,” Davis said.

The club wanted to participate in a hunger-relief project, so they started raising money for the organization last year.

To secure a spot for Feed My Starving Children, students had to raise about $800 to cover the cost of meals they packed.

They raised most of the money through two coin drives where students went door-to-door in every residence hall asking for spare change.

Janet Macon, adviser of the club, said, “The food and nutrition club wanted to make sure that whatever fundraising we did, it was really clear what the money was going toward.”

Marina Faber, president of the club, received a lot of emails showing student interest in volunteering with Feed My Starving Children, but they didn’t have enough room for everyone to participate. The club plans on doing the trip every year.

Students in the club have also been discussing domestic and global food access issues in their global nutrition class.

“This really drove home the curriculum,” Macon said. “It’s one thing to hear about it in the classroom, it’s another thing to go in and touch the food.”

The food and nutrition club has revived itself this year by providing more education on nutrition. They hold monthly Well Cafes to show students how to cook some healthy recipes on a college budget.

Contact Michelle at [email protected]