Since we did not have enough people to pack at a table (see previous posts for a description of how this all works...) we decided to volunteer for the warehouse crew. That is the crew that picks up the completed cases of food and keeps the packing tables stocked with raw materials. On this night, we volunteered to scoop rice and soy powder into the bins that are used at the table to pack. It involves standing in front of either a 2000# pound sack of rice or a great big box of soy nuggets and scooping out the respective materials with a gallon sized scoop. It is one of those jobs that is slow at the beginning and the end, but then gets really hectic in the middle. As usual, we had a great time doing it. The crowd was large and full of people who were looking to have fun and do a lot of good. The staff was also pushing for a big night because the previous packing session had not done very well and they were about to complete a shipment headed for Swaziland.
It was a good night of work, and the packers did a pretty good job. We ended up with 92 boxes, which is, I think, a high for any session Jen and I have been working at.
I am not sure how this number of boxes compares to the number of people working in the session. They never give that number, so it is hard to tell how empirically fast we were going. In theory, we should be able to pack one box for everyone working in a session, but I feel like we had more than 92 people at this session. It is not really important, but it is kind of fun to keep track of it. What is important is how many meals we prepped for Africa. The "Kids Fed" number refers to how many children will eat for a year because of this shipment.
For the first time this week we noticed that they are keeping track of the highest totals of boxes packed in a session. They put up a leader board on the wall of the packing floor. They did not reference it while we were there, but it is still kind of neat to have something to shoot for. It also adjusts a little for the size of the crew, in that it gives a number for average boxes from a cell, which is two packing stations loading a single box at a time. A cell is staffed with 11 to 15 people, depending on how the jobs break down. The picture I got is a little fuzzy, but you can still see what the board says...
The other thing that was a little new this session was that we heard a new story about one of the kids who received FMSC food. They often tell these stories because they are kind of amazing. This one stood out because instead of being on a video, the story was told with laminated pictures that I could also photograph. The following image is of a little boy named Moses, aged four weeks, when he was first brought to a care point that distributes FMSC Manna Packs. He was malnourished and sick, barely clinging to life:
Moses went on receiving food and care, and today, three and a half years later, he looks like this:
He is now a healthy young boy, enrolled in school, happy and healthy. Many of the care points and partner organizations on the ground in the countries where this food is sent use the food as the first step to try to change whole communities. Kids who are served also have access to schools referred to as leadership academies, with the goal of teaching the children a sense of community responsibility. They are taught the skills that can lift them out of poverty so that they can turn around and help others. The aid structure helps them in the moment, and the near term, but also long term so that whole communities are getting the benefits. It is really an inspired system.
So it was another good week. Next week we will be headed back to Common Pantry. Come back and read all about it!
If you want more information on FMSC, go to Feed My Starving Children.
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