Seventy-five TCU students and volunteers prepared 10,000 packaged meals that will be sent all over the world.

“I don’t think we know how it truly feels to be hungry, so just being here and volunteering gets us a little closer as to how others that are really suffering from hunger feel,” sophomore nursing major Kendra Tucker said.

The “Stop Hunger Now” organization partnered with TCU for the last day of Hunger Week to prepare dry meals by hand. The meals were packaged in boxes and driven to the organization’s warehouse, where they are stored until they are ready to be shipped to a location outside of the U.S.

The meal packages contain dehydrated vegetables, rice, dehydrated soy and a packet with 23 essential vitamins made specifically to help with malnourishment. When the packages arrive to their location, they are mixed with water, boiled and served to create a meal that is considered nutritious.

This semester’s events marks Hunger Week’s 32nd year on TCU’s campus.

‘Last year our focus was on loving our local neighbors, and our focus this year was international hunger relief,” said Allison Lanza, director of Hunger Week.

According to the Stop Hunger Now website, research shows one in three people in developing countries are affected by vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

TCU Religious and Spiritual life put on the event as part of FaithActs in the recreation center.

“We initially had 62 people register and ended up with 75 volunteers,” Lanza said.

Every time 1,000 meals were prepared at the event, a gong was hit in celebration.

Stop Hunger Now will inform Religious and Spiritual life in about three weeks of the exact location where the food will be shipped.

“Our mission is to end world hunger in our lifetime, and we believe by working with other colleges like TCU, other companies, and churches around the world we can do it,” said Jeff Jones, program manager for the Dallas/Fort Worth location of Stop Hunger Now.

For students that would like more information about hunger or how to get involved, visit the Stop Hunger Now website, dosomething, or freedom for hunger.