More than 1,000 volunteers packed meals to send to the Philippines at the Redmond Assembly of God last Friday and Saturday.

Church and community groups worked with nonprofit Feed My Starving Children to coordinate the Eastside Fill and Feed event. Volunteers produced 285,000 meals to distribute to malnourished Filipino children.

“The Philippines is one of those places where children are dying of starvation or suffering from hunger,” Feed My Starving Children representative Andrew Ulasich said. “The effects of hunger and malnourishment are extensive on the body and brain development.”

Volunteers packaged MannaPack Rice, a formula of chicken flavoring, soy protein, dehydrated vegetables and rice, fortified with 20 vitamins and minerals. Ulasich said the all-vegetarian food maximizes nutrition while respecting dietary customs.

“Much of the world does not eat meat, whether it’s for religious or cultural reasons or just because their bodies are not used to it,” Ulasich said, adding that some people simply cannot afford meat.

Each MannaPack costs $0.24 to make and provides a child with one meal. The Eastside Fill and Feed produced enough MannaPacks to feed about 750 children for an entire year.

The success of a Fill and Feed event in California inspired coordinators to organize an event in Washington. Last October, 500 people produced 100,000 meals at the Eastside’s first Fill and Feed.

Ulasich said the Eastside events have been unique because a small group of individuals from a variety of organizations including Mars Hill Church, City Church and the Redmond Assembly of God came together to recruit a large number of volunteers.

Fill and Feed events elsewhere in the country tend to be coordinated by single organizations.

Coordinator Brad Allen said he would like to see the event become a regular occurrence.

“It’s our vision to grow awareness of the Fill and Feed and Feed My Starving Children,” he said. “We want to make this event bigger and involve more churches and organizations.”

He added that he would like to establish a permanent packing plant in the Pacific Northwest modeled after those already in Minnesota, Illinois and Arizona. He envisions a system where volunteers can stop in every week and pack food to send overseas.

“We are sitting in this wonderful port city of Seattle, and I’d love to take advantage of sending the food right out our backdoor to the Philippines,” he said.

However, the first priority is to finish raising funds for last weekend’s event. Donations from volunteers, friends, family, local organizations and businesses have totaled $50,000, which leaves a $19,000 gap to pay for the meals.

Those interested in donating can visit www.eastsidefillandfeed.com to give online or find instructions for writing a check.

Amy Sisk, a sophomore at the University of Montana, is a summer intern for the Redmond Reporter.