Los Angeles Volunteer Update June 2026: Meal Paks and Summer Shifts

Lindsay has been faithfully bringing her family to volunteer with Children’s Hunger Fund for several years. An enthusiastic and tireless ambassador for CHF’s LA Volunteer Program, if Lindsay is not arranging for her sons’ lacrosse or basketball teams to serve, she is bringing along a friend. We are so grateful for her!

CHF: How did you first get connected with Children’s Hunger Fund?

Lindsay: During COVID, I was listening to some old Francis Chan sermons, and he was talking about CHF. The kids weren’t in school full-time, and it was a great time to volunteer as a family.

CHF: What inspired you to start volunteering with CHF?

Lindsay: Jesus came to serve and not to be served. It’s like church, but it’s not church. It’s an easy place to invite friends to join.

CHF: Is there a volunteer moment or experience that stands out as especially meaningful to you?

Lindsay: We’ve coordinated with Seth and Maddie to bring our kids’ teams, and that is especially impactful. The kids don’t all necessarily go to church or even want to volunteer, and they all show up. Selflessness and service are not taught in the world, and they get to spend two hours together as a team doing something for someone else. The time is invaluable!

CHF: What keeps you coming back to serve?

Lindsay: I feel called to serve, and I love that we can bring anyone with us. It is a great way to invite people, friends, neighbors, life group, co-workers, etc., to do something good in the world.

CHF: Has volunteering shaped the way you think about hunger, poverty, or generosity?

Lindsay: Poverty Encounter was a powerful experience. When we left, we had a long conversation with all the kids with us about governments and poverty and why it all matters. But at the end of the day, everyone who enters knows Jesus is the center at CHF, and that’s the most important thing.

CHF: What’s one thing you appreciate about other volunteers or the staff you serve alongside?

Lindsay: CHF staff always have a smile; they are incredibly accommodating when we ask to bring big groups. They are always kind and gracious. We are really grateful to have the opportunity to serve somewhere so close to home for so many reasons.

Important Volunteer Force Dates

Saturday, June 20, 2026

9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Father’s Day 
(Bring Dad!)

Saturday, July 25, 2026

8:00 AM – 10:00 AM

Hawaiian Holiday
(Wear a Hawaiian shirt)

Adjusted Summer Time Hours  |  June – July

June

July

Sign up for the Volunteer Force HERE!

Be encouraged by our 2030 Growth Initiative Impact Report –

We couldn’t have done ANY of it without YOU!

Project Spotlight: meal Paks

Let’s talk about Meal Paks! Meal Paks are those Children’s Hunger Fund-branded bags with the orange contents that you may have assembled, placed in a Food Pak, put a sticker on, or seen behind the windows of the Wentz Volunteer Center. A Meal Pak is a nutritious lentil soup mix that is included in Food Paks distributed to Children’s Hunger Fund’s (CHF) International Mercy Networks. The ingredients in the Meal Pak are simple—red lentils, dehydrated potatoes, dehydrated mixed vegetables, and salt for seasoning, yet each Meal Pak can provide a family with nine high-protein meals! Once the family receives the Meal Pak, they can prepare it with spices common to their culture and household.

The Meal Pak meets a different need than other prepared soup-mix-type meals. One of CHF’s most generous partners, Feed My Starving Children, provides MannaPacks that are specifically designed to support individuals and families at risk of starvation. In contrast, Meal Paks were created when CHF recognized the need to offer nutrient-rich, versatile meals that are well-suited for regular, daily consumption by families.

Meal Paks are measured, bagged, and sealed at the Wentz Volunteer Center, a clean, sanitized packing room located at CHF’s Volunteer Center in Los Angeles. The Wentz Volunteer Center opened in 2018 and has since provided a temperature-controlled, sanitary space for volunteers to assemble Meal Paks and to scoop and bag pasta and beans for children and families.

The Meal Pak was introduced with the opening of Poverty Encounter, providing guests with an opportunity to actively respond after having their eyes opened to the world of extreme poverty. As Children’s Hunger Fund’s International Mercy Networks have grown, the demand for Meal Paks have exceeded what the Poverty Encounter guests could produce. This need led CHF to mobilize volunteers to help meet the need for more Meal Paks.

Meal Paks have been included in Food Paks distributed in Albania, Cuba, Peru, and the Philippines. They are also provided in bulk to churches in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ecuador, and Haiti.

In fiscal year 2025 alone, CHF’s international partners distributed 17,541 Meal Paks to children and families in need. These Meal Paks provided an estimated 157,869 meals. Your work preparing Meal Paks means many families receive the gift of nutritious food.

Did You Know?

A Mercy Center is a building designed to enhance the local church’s outreach in areas experiencing extreme poverty. Each Mercy Center, operated by the local church, responds to the unique needs of its community, resulting in different areas of focus from one Mercy Center to another. For example, one Mercy Center in the Philippines provides tutoring and academic services in addition to warm meals, while another Mercy Center in Thailand serves as a safe refuge for children rescued from human trafficking. Read more about CHF’s Mercy Centers HERE (pgs. 23-25)

Mothers’ Day at Children’s Hunger Fund

To recognize and celebrate the mothers of our Volunteer Force, Seth and Evan prepared a special gift for all the moms in attendance for our Saturday, May 9th volunteer shift. We are deeply grateful for the role these mothers play in helping us impact the next generation.

She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. – Proverbs 31:26-27

Join us for a special Father’s Day Volunteer Shift on June 20th.

Visit Poverty Encounter!

See the world with a new perspective. Come away with gratitude for what you have and compassion for those who lack. Get tickets here.

• Mercy Network churches – Pray for endurance and encouragement as well as fruit from their ministry.
• Construction in Prosper, TX – Pray with us as we build a new Children’s Hunger Fund Distribution Center.

Our team loves to pray for our Volunteer Force.  If you have any prayer requests, please send them here. Your requests will be kept confidential and anonymous.