285K Meal Marathon Results
by Mindy Behl (COTN Summer Communications Intern)

Over a thousand Children of the Nations volunteers rallied together Friday, May 4, 2007 to package food for children in Uganda, Africa, at the 285K Meal Marathon held at Silverdale United Methodist Church.

"So much was going on that it looked chaotic, yet there was much organization to it, just very busy people," said National Feeding Director, Doug Hanson.

COTN's annual 285K Meal Marathon is an event full of music, conversation, and production lines, with a full meal as the final product. Youth groups, churches, neighbors, family and friends came out to lend a hand to COTN. Working side-by-side, the groups and individuals packaged the food by filling, weighing, and sealing bags full of lentils, spice, chicken and rice.

The marathon began at 3 p.m. Friday. Volunteers, decked out in 285K T-shirts, white aprons, hairnets and plastic gloves, took on two-hour shifts to prepare the food. By 1 o'clock Saturday morning the marathon was complete. Meal Marathon participants reached the "finish line" and collectively basked in the joy of their prize-285,000 meals for starving children in Uganda, Africa.

"We look for the greatest need in the areas we serve, and this year Uganda was the call for help," Hanson said. The quarter of a million meals packaged (enough to fill a 40-foot container) will provide proper daily nutrition to thousands of Uganda's starving children. Many children in Uganda are fortunate if they receive one meal a day-so many children go without. Relief is sought primarily though IDP camps (Internally Displaced Persons), where food is distributed. Often times these camps cannot offer enough meals to go around. If children do receive food, the nutrient content is often questionable. Lack of nutrients causes children to suffer from acute malnutrition. One of the 285,000 meals packaged at this event may be the only meal a child receives a day.

Each meal is packaged with the four ingredients; lentils, spice, chicken and rice. During the packaging, six meals are packaged per bag. Each box is filled with 36 bags. To fill one 40-foot container 285,000 meals are needed. Event volunteers worked diligently to fill the container. On average, in one minute volunteers packaged approximately 678 meals. With this pace, the 285K Meal Marathon goal was reached.

Now in its third year, the 285K Meal Marathon is an established COTN event. The success of a 2005 Tsunami Relief program fueled the idea for the 285K event. In 2006, COTN's first "official" 285K benefited children in Malawi, Africa. Now, in its third year, COTN sees the remarkable success of the event and looks forward to future 285Ks. "Last year we took two days to package this food. This year we did it in 10 hours!" says Dave Spoon, COTN Washington Feeding Coordinator.

This year's 285K was made possible by the hands of over 1,000 volunteers and local sponsors. From labor to tables, headlines to supplies, COTN would not have been able finish this marathon without their help. "The most incredible part of this event was the community support," says Spoon. "To see the COTN family, the church community, and all the volunteers come together for the purpose of feeding kids in Uganda is remarkable."