The Hesston College community will participate in the first State Wide Packaging Event (SWIPE) for hunger with Numana by packaging meals and raising money to fund the project Oct. 1.

Numana is an international hunger relief organization based in El Dorado, Kan., that facilitates volunteer food-packaging events throughout the country and sends the meals world-wide to areas where famine and hunger are greatest.

The SWIPE initiative will take place at colleges and universities across Kansas during October. More than 500,000 meals will be packaged throughout the month.

Each meal, which feeds six people, costs 30 cents to prepare and send. Hesston College volunteers are working to raise about $9,000 to pay for the meals they will package. A donation of $65 buys a box of 216 meals.

Hesston College has pledged to use 400 student, faculty, staff and community volunteers to package 50,000 meals. The meals consist of rice, soy protein, freeze-dried pinto beans and 21 vitamins and minerals, which are measured into bags, sealed, boxed and prepared for shipment. The meals packaged at Hesston on Oct. 1 will be sent to the horn of Africa to be distributed to those experiencing starvation. Volunteers will work from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Campus Activity Center on the Hesston College campus.

“This is a great, hands-on way for many of our students, faculty, staff and community members to help feed people in Africa,” said Russ Gaeddert, Hesston College faculty member and project coordinator. “It’s an opportunity for us to put our faith into action.”

If you would like to make a donation, make checks payable to “Numana” with “Hesston College project” on the memo line. Send checks to:

Hesston College
Attn: Russ Gaeddert
Box 3000
Hesston, KS 67072

Contact Russ Gaeddert with questions at 620-327-8294 or 620-200-2985.