Members of the Oxford community and UM students volunteered last year to pack meals for those in need through Feed the Hunger’s Pack-A-Thon.
OXFORD, Miss. – Organizers of the University of Mississippi’s annual Feed the Hunger Pack-A-Thon hope to assemble at least 170,000 meal packs to help needy people around the world at this weekend’s event (Feb. 26-27) at Oxford Middle School.
The Pack-A-Thon brings together volunteers from across the community to create meal packs that will be delivered to people in need in Kenya, Haiti, Kentucky and the Oxford community. Feed the Hunger also collects donations for local feeding organizations Lovepacks and More Than a Meal.
“Last year we raised over $47,000 to pack 160,320 meals, packed by 885 volunteers from the University-Oxford-Lafayette county community, and many people from outside of the area, to feed 668 children for a year,” said Kim Phillips, academic counselor for the UM School of Business Administration and the faculty adviser for Feed the Hunger.
Former UM marketing major Mary Katherine Perry Phillips organized the local Pack-A-Thon event in 2011. After graduation, Phillips opened Katherine Beck, a boutique on the Oxford Square. Over the past five years, Pack-A-Thon has packed 669,106 meals.
Feed the Hunger volunteers will set up the Pack-A-Thon beginning at 1 p.m. Friday (Fed. 26). Meal packing times are 6:30-8:30 p.m. that day, and 9-11 a.m., noon-2 p.m. and 3-5 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 27).
Cayla Hari, a UM sophomore majoring in psychology, is this year’s Pack-A-Thon chairperson.
“I am looking forward to seeing our hard work pay off, because I know how much it will mean to each of the children when they receive food,” Hari said. “I am looking forward to seeing the Oxford community come together for such an incredible cause.”
For more information on how to get involved and volunteer, visit the Feed the Hunger’s website at http://www.feedthehunger.org/ or its Facebook page, “Feed the Hunger: Ole Miss Pack-A-Thon.”