UNCW to package 140,000 meals for Haiti

WILMINGTON, NC (NEWS RELEASE) – Instead of spending a Saturday at the beach or watching TV, 750 students and community volunteers will join forces at University of North Carolina Wilmington to package meals for Stop Hunger Now in Hanover Hall from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday Nov. 13. The Raleigh-based international hunger relief organization coordinates the distribution of food and other life-saving aid to those in need around the world.

All of the 140,000 meals to be packaged in Wilmington will be distributed to earthquake victims in Haiti.

UNC Wilmington’s food packaging event is the final phase of Stop Hunger Now’s 2010 University Million Meal Event. In August, volunteers at North Carolina State University, East Carolina University, the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Duke University and NC Central University packaged a combined 565,608 meals.

“Stop Hunger Now is committed to providing aid to those in Haiti, even after the crisis stops making headlines,” said Ray Buchanan, president, founder of Stop Hunger Now and UNCW alumnus.

Stop Hunger Now’s highly nutritious meals include rice, soy, dehydrated vegetables and a vitamin-fortified flavoring mix with 21 essential vitamins and minerals. Each meal costs 25 cents to make. Stop Hunger Now provides the ingredients with funds from sponsors, contributors and student donations.

Churches, civic organizations, schools, businesses or individuals interested in helping to package meals or donating to the University Million Meals Event should contact Stop Hunger Now at 888.501.8440 or info@stophungernow.org.