Our Impact
The food our volunteers pack helps people around the world suffering from famine and disaster. See where the food has gone, and read about the people it has helped.
Most of these individuals, many of them children and the elderly, told how they’d been forced to run or swim out of their homes to the houses of neighbors or other family members as rivers flooded with rain raged down from the mountains and through the city. They described losing everything, their homes reduced to rubble and piles of river silt. They grieved for other family and friends lost to the ocean when their homes or cars washed out to sea. ... While a meal will ease hunger for a short time, hope will sustain throughout trial. Thank you for being a source of that hope!”
— Heidi Busch, MHMM Operations Coordinator
Million Meals Packed
Every year, dedicated volunteers research where we should send the meals we pack.
Criteria include the level of need, having a trusted partner who can deliver the meals, the safety of the food (we want to ensure it reaches its destination) and transportation options.
The 9 million-plus meals we’ve packed have gone around the world and close to home. From Somali refugee camps to areas of Minneapolis after a tornado, our meals go where people are hungry.
DOMINICA & PUERTO RICO
After Hurricane Maria hit the Caribbean in the fall of 2017, Dominica and Puerto Rico were devastated. With the help of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an international non-profit marine wildlife conservation organization, we were able to ship almost 180,000 meals to hurricane victims that had lost nearly everything.
SIERRA LEONE
In Sierra Leone, 75% of people live in poverty, with half living on less than $1.25/day. Malaria, extreme poverty and serious diseases are common. To compound the situation, 320,000 children have been orphaned due to war. MH-MM continues to work with Children of the Nations, which provides food and education for orphans and destitute children, to get meals to those most in need.
SOMALI REFUGEE CAMPS IN NAIROBI, KENYA
In 2011, Somalia and the Horn of Africa experienced their worst drought in 60 years. 30,000 Somali children died in 90 days. Women walked numerous miles with their children to Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya in search of food. We wanted to ensure those who survived the journey were met with the food they so desperately needed.
EAGLE BUTTE, SD
The Eagle Butte, SD food shelf serves the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in Eagle Butte, South Dakota. Eagle Butte is located in the county with the unfortunate distinction of having the highest poverty rate in America—50% of the people there live below the poverty line. Our meals helped supplement the food shelf when donations were gone.
HAITI
Haiti was hit by a large-scale 7.0 earthquake in 2010. In response, MHMM partnered with Children’s Lifeline to feed 8,000 children each day as the country worked to rebuild.
NEW ORLEANS
In August of 2005, we sent meals to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, a category 5 hurricane, caused massive destruction in the Gulf area of the United States. It was one of the deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history, and the scope of the destruction caused an immediate need for emergency aid.
PHILIPPINES
We’ve partnered with International Care Ministries (ICM) to feed the poor in Philippines’ slum communities.
SYRIAN REFUGEES IN IRAQ
In 2012, we partnered with World Compassion to distribute food to Syrian refugees in Iraq. World Compassion works closely with churches to coordinate food distribution and follow-up with the families in the camp.
MALAWI
Malawi is facing a food crisis caused by flooding followed by severe drought. The majority of the hungry live in rural areas and rely on farming, which has been wiped out. We’re partnering with Children of the Nation (COTN) to deliver meals, focusing on those suffering from malnourishment. COTN is working to develop sustainable practices in Malawi through farms diversifying with drought-tolerant crops and raising livestock such as pigs, chickens and cows.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN
A tornado struck North Minneapolis on May 22, 2011. Thousands lost power and curfews were instilled. We delivered meals to the area immediately after the disaster to provide rapid relief to those effected by the storm.
OKLAHOMA CITY
In 2013, a massive tornado hit areas near Oklahoma City. We shipped 40,000 meals to networks of churches that provided relief to tornado victims.
TANZANIA
We’ve supported Outreach Inc., which provides food, water, medical aid, and education to those in need in Tanzania.
BLOOMINGTON, MN
We’ve donated meals to VEAP, which operates the largest food pantry in the state, serving nearly 10,000 individuals a month. VEAP’s pantry operates under a client-choice model, which allows clients to select food for their family.