How are we doing it?

With the help of generous donors, the leadership of the Youth Group at Saint Irenaeus Church in Rochester Hills, Michigan and a non-profit organization called Kids Coalition Against Hunger, OCIMA has been sponsoring food packaging events since 2004. Our goal at each of these events is to prepare at least 500 boxes of food for distribution. Each of the boxes contains 36 bags of a blend of rice, soy, dried vegetables, vitamins and flavorings and provides a meal for 6 to 12 people, depending on the ratio of adults and children. Combined, 500 boxes provide between 108,000 and 216,000 nutritious meals.

The Youth Group at Saint Irenaeus Church has taken on the responsibility of organizing the food packaging event at the Parish Hall. The event lasts a few days  and is typically scheduled in the Fall, shortly after the students return to school. Wearing disposable hats, aprons, and gloves to ensure proper hygiene, volunteers organize into assembly lines of 10 to 12 people. In each line, people measure the ingredients into bags, verify weights, seal the bags and pack boxes. The boxes are then loaded up into a truck and stored at a warehouse until the food is shipped to Guatemala.

Once the food reaches Guatemala, distribution is handled through the Nutritional Center in Morales and the Clinic in Santa Elena. The tireless people who run these facilities ensure that the food is distributed to those most in need. Each location has the use of a truck to deliver the food, but sometimes, the villages are too remote to reach by truck and the last leg of the journey is on foot, with mules carrying the heavy loads of food.

A little about Kids Coalition Against Hunger™

We are fortunate to have found a non-profit organization headquartered in Michigan with a vision consistent with OCIMA’s goals to help feed the hungry and to actively involve children and teenagers.

Several years ago, a team of food scientists developed a specially-formulated meal to provide a rich source of easily digestible protein, carbohydrates, and vitamins needed by an undernourished child’s body and mind. The food offers all nine of the essential amino acids required for complete nutrition, something that can’t be said about other typical food relief sources such as rice or beans alone. It is made from four readily available, dry ingredients that are easy to package, keep for long periods, and require only boiling with water to prepare. Despite the simplicity of the food’s content, it is a nutritionally complex and well-balanced meal.

Kids Coalition Against Hunger purchases and stores the food ingredients and packaging materials in bulk and provides a means for volunteers to contribute time to package the food for shipment all over the world. They also arrange special off-site packaging events for groups like OCIMA, as long as the group can cover the cost of the food and other incidentals (e.g., packaging materials).

Into the future

As funds allow, we would like to expand the reach of this project. Although OCIMA could purchase the food ingredients in Guatemala, we recognize the value of people participating in a more personal way to improve the lives of those less fortunate. We especially believe this activity will have a positive impact on our younger volunteers and that they will continue their charitable involvement into adulthood.

This all takes time, money, cooperation and planning. Thanks to all those who participate and help make this a successful event. The thousands who benefit through this food program are very mindful of your generosity.

Written By: Maria Cardinale Curreri 12/2008, updated 7/2026