“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” — John 15:12

FMSC is privileged to work with a network of incredible partners who distribute MannaPack® meals in communities where they’re needed most. One of our partners, Food for the Poor, shared the following story from Palencia, Guatemala:

Clara Luz Ardón lives with her spouse of 37 years, Edgar Arnoldo, a day laborer, and their children, Jenifer, Edgar, Alma, Eduardo and Justin. The children’s ages range from one to 14, and three of them are currently in elementary school.

Edgar is the only provider for the family. He earns a monthly income of $45, which they utilize primarily to cover their food expenses. The house in which they live is located in Sansur, in the city of Palencia. The walls are made of wood, and it has a dirt floor and a tin roof.  

The house has two rooms, one of which is used for cooking with firewood, and the other for the bedroom in which the seven members of the family sleep.

MannaPack^® meals of rice and potatoes with soy, generously donated by Feed My Starving Children, not only provide food security to this family of seven, but they also provide nutrition that otherwise would not be obtainable to them.

Breaking the cycle of poverty and building strong communities begins with food. But as global food insecurity has surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, families living in poverty are facing impossible choices. 

When a family isn’t spending their full income on food, they can focus their resources on building a future — for themselves, and the generations that follow.