Organizers of the Fountain Hills food packing event are planning the event for the evening of Thursday, March 19, at the Fountain Hills Community Center.

This will be the tenth food packing event held in Fountain Hills.

During the past nine years, volunteers in Fountain Hills have packed more than 500,000 meals that have been distributed to refugees, disaster victims and low-income households.

Last year, between 200 and 250 volunteers packed 92,500 meals in about two hours.

In order to succeed, New Journey Lutheran Church relies on helpers who are willing to give up an evening, and other volunteers who chip in to cover the cost of ingredients for the easy-to-cook meals.

“We depend heavily on the community,” Denny Rubenow, chair of the event, said. “The volunteers may be anybody in the community or surrounding communities that is willing to come and work.”

As the planning proceeds, the organizers are looking for additional community sponsors, organizations and people to contribute funds to buy the bulk dry ingredients that go into the meals, and workers who will help pack the dehydrated meals on March 19.

At the packing event, Fountain Hills volunteers will form assembly lines to combine the nutritional ingredients. The project is conducted in conjunction with the international relief organization, Food For Kidz.

The meals are distributed to local organizations such as the Extended Hands Food Bank, Arizona Brain Food and Native American Connection, and also to international relief organizations.

Monetary contributions can be sent to New Journey Lutheran Church, P.O. Box 19652, Fountain Hills AZ 85269.

Monies can also be sent via PayPal to New Journey Lutheran Church. For more information, email Denny Rubenow at foodforkidzfh@gmail.com.