The need is immense; therefore, the goal is ambitious.

You can help fulfill the lofty objective.

The 11th Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) MobilePack will be held Friday, March 20, through Sunday, March 22, at Willow Street Mennonite Church, 399 E. Penn Grant Road, Willow Street.

Packing shifts will be held Friday, March 20 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., and 4 to 6 p.m., Saturday, March 21, from 9 to 11 a.m., noon to 2 p.m., 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., and 5 to 7 p.m. and Sunday, March 22, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., and 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. "Some shift times are more popular than others and fill quickly," said Lora Mangus Wenger, who is the FMSC Lancaster County MobilePack chairperson.

Every individual who signs up for a packing shift is asked to contribute a minimum of $63. "This covers the cost of one box of packed meals (216 meals), which is the average amount a single volunteer packs in a two-hour period," Mangus Wenger said. "Basically, we encourage everyone to donate as they're able. Whether a person can contribute 29 cents or $290, we welcome you to participate."

Registrations will be taken starting Friday, Feb. 6, and will be accepted up until the day people participate. Go to https://tinyurl.com/2vezzzj9 to sign up.

If it is your first time to register for a FMSC event, you will need to set up a username and password to register as an individual or for your group. Go to https://www.fmsc.org/# and click "Log In." Once you set up an account, click on "Volunteer," then reserve the number of spots you will need for your group.

"I would encourage everyone to try it at least once because I think they will be pleasantly surprised at the impact that it has on them to be able to volunteer, as well as the idea that the food that they are packing, the next people who will touch it are those in need," Mangus Wenger said. "You're really making a very direct, positive contribution to someone's life."

FMSC accepts volunteers as young as 5 years old. "One of (FMSC's) taglines is 'all ages and all abilities,'" said Mangus Wenger. "We have opportunities for people who need to sit. We can find a job for pretty much anyone of any ability."

For more information, email Mangus Wenger at lmw4fmsc@gmail.com or call the church at 717-464-2422.

"The food through this organization is distributed around the world to those most in need," said Mangus Wenger. "Feed My Starving Children, since 1987, has distributed more than 4 billion meals to more than 100 countries."

Last year, the locally packaged food was sent to Malawi, the Dominican Republic, and Peru. "It is so important to me because, unfortunately, there's an ongoing, huge need," said Mangus Wenger. "It's not that there's not enough food in the world, but it's not distributed in an even manner to everyone around the world, so there's still a lot of people in the world who are malnourished or underfed."

A pediatrician, Mangus Wenger is especially aware of the impact on the younger members of the world's population. "Specifically, as far as children are concerned, it's so vital that they get good nutrition during the first two to five years of their life, because that's when their brain is developing a lot," she said. "It has a very long-term effect if they don't get adequate nutrition at a young age."

Everyone who attends is also asked to bring a nonperishable food item that will be donated to the Lancaster Food Hub. "We also are concerned about local food insecurity," said Mangus Wenger. "As a community, this is a great opportunity to help meet this need both locally and globally."

Volunteers packed 400,000 meals last year. "Because the need is so great, this year we're making a goal of packing 500,000 meals with the help of 2,000 volunteers from the community and raising $147,000 to cover the cost of the meals we are packing," said Mangus Wenger. "Every person and penny is needed to help us reach our goal."