More Than 3,000 Volunteers to Package 500,000+ Meals With Stop Hunger Now on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service

On January 16, more than 3,000 volunteers across the U.S. will package half a million meals in recognition of MLK Day. Corporate, civic and faith-based groups from North Carolina to California have committed to packaging meals to support Stop Hunger Now’s mission of working to end hunger in our lifetime.

This is the fourth year that FedEx has worked with Stop Hunger Now to orchestrate the nationwide event and provide employees with an opportunity to honor Dr. King’s legacy through service. Over 600 FedEx employees will be packaging meals simultaneously in these cities: Memphis, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Newark, N.J., Boston, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Houston, Orlando and San Francisco.

In addition, FedEx has provided a $30,000 grant to subsidize shipping costs. The meals packaged by FedEx employees will be shipped to partners in Zambia, Haiti, and Vietnam.

“FedEx is proud to again mark Dr. King’s birthday by supporting Stop Hunger Now,” said Rose Flenorl, manager, FedEx Global Citizenship. “Our team members are committed to making an impact in communities where we live and work, and by supporting this cause we can help to perpetuate corporate and societal values that are consistent with Dr. King’s vision of America.”

Other corporations and groups packaging meals include:

• Walmart Global eCommerce, packaging more than 20,000 meals in the California Bay Area
• United Methodist Churches in Virginia, Tennessee, New Jersey and North Carolina
• Schools and universities including Wake Tech Community College in Raleigh, N.C.; Haverford Middle School in Haverton, Pa.; St. Andrew School in Newtown, Pa. and Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va.
• Several Rotary clubs will also package meals in honor of MLK Day. In Richmond, Va., the Church Hill Rotary Club plans package about 2,000 meals.

Daniel Meehan, a volunteer with the Church Hill Rotary Club, said, “We are involved in hunger relief locally and were looking for an opportunity to make an impact globally. With a Stop Hunger Now location in Richmond, we were excited that Church Hill Rotary could package the food ourselves that would impact the lives of people around the world.”

Around the world, nearly 795 million people lack adequate food. Founded in 1998, Stop Hunger Now has delivered aid and disaster relief supplies in the form of food, medical supplies, clothing, school supplies and more to thousands of disaster victims and other hungry and vulnerable people in 73 countries.

Meal packaging events are a volunteer-based program that coordinates the streamlined packaging of highly nutritious dehydrated meals comprised of rice, soy, vegetables and 23 essential vitamins and minerals. Stop Hunger Now meal packaging programs offer volunteers the opportunity to participate in a hands-on international hunger relief program and to become educated, engaged advocates for the world’s poor and
hungry.

About Stop Hunger Now
Stop Hunger Now works to end hunger by providing food and life-changing aid to the world’s most vulnerable people, and by creating a global commitment to mobilize the necessary resources. Based in Raleigh, N.C., Stop Hunger Now operates meal packaging programs in 20 U.S. cities and in South Africa, Malaysia, India, Italy, Peru and the Philippines. To date, Stop Hunger Now and its global partners have packaged more than 300 million meals. For more information visit www.stophungernow.org.