Shipments Going Through Convoy of Hope

03.17.2011– Feed My Starving Children (FMSC), a Minnesota-based, Christian food charity, has arranged for nearly 600,000 meals to be shipped to Japan–with possibly more to come as other aid organizations request its food.

In an arrangement made late Wednesday, the first 50,000 meals from FMSC are already on their way to Tokyo on a shipment with Convoy of Hope, a distribution partner working in the Far East. Convoy of Hope had originally planned the shipment for the Philippines, but decided to divert the FMSC meals to immediate relief efforts in Japan.

Convoy of Hope has reserved another 542,000 meals that will be shipped out of the Eagan and Coon Rapids, Minnesota, warehouses of FMSC early next week, bound for ocean liners to Japan. So far, the meals for Japan are already packed and in storage, but volunteers and donors are needed every day to keep FMSC’s meal pipeline full for the nearly 70 countries the charity serves.

“We are heart-broken over the devastation in Japan,” says FMSC Executive Director/CEO Mark Crea. “We are not primarily a disaster aid organization, since most of our meals are pre-allocated to developing nations. But we believe these meals could be life-giving to some of the thousands of Japanese now in evacuation centers, who will need both short-term and long-term aid. We pray they gain strength and some hope from these meals, sent in the name of Christ.”

FMSC has offered its food to four other partner organizations that may have channels into the northern region of Japan, struck with a historic 9.0 earthquake last Friday, followed by a tsunami and evacuations away from nuclear plants.

The MannaPack Rice meals of FMSC are comprised of rice, soy nuggets, dehydrated vegetables, and 20 vitamins and minerals in a vegetarian chicken flavoring. Prepared with boiling water, a single one-cup serving provides much of the nutrition needed daily by adults and children.

Food scientists from Cargill and General Mills developed the formula for Feed My Starving Children in 1987, and since then, the organization has produced 400 million meals.

FMSC distributes food to nearly 70 countries around the world through humanitarian agencies and missions. All meals–just 24-cents each–are funded by donors and packed by volunteers. FMSC has six packing sites in Minnesota, Illinois, and Arizona as well as a nationwide MobilePack operation that has traveled to 33 states. A full 94% of total donations go directly to the food program, earning FMSC the highest four-star rating from Charity Navigator.

For more information or to donate, visit http://www.fmsc.org/aboutus/mealsforjapan. Or give an immediate gift of $10 by texting “manna” to 50555.

AIR-for-Charity Featured in Inspiring New Video
Watch on-line before September 21
to spread the word about helping hungry children.

An inspiring new video features AIR-for-Charity’s program to save the lives of hungry children through the non-profit Feed My Starving Children (fmsc.org). You can help gain a lot more exposure for AIR-for-Charity and Feed My Starving Children by viewing the video at http://www.youtube.com/NACSTV#p/u/4/ZAgGK0j1MfY . Just click on the link—and forward it to others. They can make a difference with just one click, too! 

The short video—just 30 seconds long—encourages NACS Show attendees to learn more about Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) and AIR-for-Charity by visiting our booth—#3031—during the show, October 5-8, in Atlanta.

Our video is competing with other exhibitor videos for the most on-line visitors. The winner receives exclusive exhibitor exposure on the NACS Website and throughout the conference in hotels and other conference venues. The NACS Show attracts about 20,000 convenience store industry professionals each year, and the contest ends at 5 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, September 21.

Judges also consider creativity, subject matter, and other quality measures. But the number of on-line visits makes up 50 percent of the scoring.

So take just a moment to watch AIR-for-Charity and Feed My Starving Children in action at http://www.youtube.com/NACSTV#p/u/4/ZAgGK0j1MfY .

You’ll also learn how to help save the lives of hungry children by simply inflating your tires using AIR-serv air machines with no extra effort or expense.

And you can, too, without extra effort or expense

Memorial Day Motorists: Make sure your Memorial Day travels are safe—and memorable—by filling your vehicle’s tires to the proper pressure with air from AIR-serv air machines at convenience stores, gasoline stations, and car washes. Properly filled tires perform better, suffer fewer blow-outs, use less fuel , protect the environment by reducing harmful emissions, and last longer. Look for the words AIR-serv on tire-inflation and vacuum machines.

Plus, you can create a special personal memory by being among the first to help feed starving children through AIR-serv’s exciting new program, Air for Charity™. This innovative new initiative enables retailers and the driving public to support a better world without any extra effort or expense. It also allows you to help hungry kids every time you inflate your tires with AIR-serv air.

Retail Partners: AIR-serv retail partners will want to tell their customers about the good they can do just by inflating their tires to the right pressure, especially on a monthly basis. Retailers who want to learn more about how they benefit can call 800-247-8363.

How does Air for Charity™ work?

The leading tire-inflation and vacuum services provider, AIR-serv, has pledged $500,000 over five years to Feed My Starving Children, a non-profit organization that annually saves the lives of millions of severely malnourished children in nearly 70 nations. A portion of AIR-serv revenues generated by drivers using AIR-serv air machines will go directly to providing such children with highly nutritious, specially designed meals.

The launch of Air for Charity™ also coincides with the launch of our new Website this month (www.air-serv.com). The AIR-serv Website will provide retailers and drivers with helpful information about tire maintenance as well as updates on the AIR-serv Air for Charity™ alliance with Feed My Starving Children.