Rob Ellis
A Shropshire man is asking businesses and local church and community groups to join him and literally lend their hands to help feed 10,000 children who might otherwise go hungry.
Rob Ellis, whose business in based in Oswestry is asking other people to join him in supporting
Leicester based Feed The Hungry UK which works to combat hunger abroad.
Food packing is very simple; teams of volunteers work together on a food production line to bag, weigh, seal and box packets of dried food which are then sent to parts to feed children in school and community settings.
A team of 60 volunteers could pack 10,000 meals within the space of a couple of hours and every meal will do a vital job in feeding a balanced and nutritious meal to a child who would otherwise go hungry.
In the United States and elsewhere in Europe, food packing is well known. In 2017, over 300 million meals were packed in the USA and sent overseas. In the UK, food packing is relatively new, although is becoming more common, especially in the corporate sector.
Feed The Hungry UK provides all of the equipment, food and a team of people to run the event at your venue, which Rob plans to hold in Oswestry, at some point in the spring.
Rob, who lives in Llanfechain Powys, with his wife and three-year-old son and runs accountants Welch & Ellis, was drawn to supporting the charity, after spending his GAP year working as a teacher at a school in Uganda 25 years ago.
“Having worked in a school in Africa more than 25 years ago and now with a son of my own it is sad to think that children are still going hungry across the continent and for many kids the meal they receive from this charity will be their only meal that day.
“Many of the children I taught had walked miles to school and can be hard for families to be able to afford to sent them, so I appreciate that what Feed The Hungry UK is doing, not only helps feed a young person it also makes it easier for them to be able to get an education and with a good meal inside them they can concentrate better in school.”
Feed the Hungry currently feed over 268,000 children around the world every day on a specially designed and balanced diet which includes, rice, lentils, soya and a packet of micronutrients which also act as a flavouring. The diet contains all the vital vitamins and minerals and is vegan so it is easy to store and cook, and can be supplemented with local vegetables, where available.
Most of the children are fed at schools and other educational settings and for many of them it will be there only proper meal that day.*
Rob added: “In order to make the day a success, I am looking for support from other businesses as well as well as churches and community groups.”
To get involved with Rob’s food packing event please email: [email protected].
For further information about the charity and its hand to hand events visit: https://fth.org.uk/handtohand/.
