All of our volunteer registration takes place online at fmsc.org.

Please use the following instructions to make a reservation:

Begin by going to our main webpage at fmsc.org. LOGIN with your email address and password or click CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT. Click on the white VOLUNTEER button in the upper right hand corner of the screen. This brings you to the VOLUNTEER screen. Next, select a location to search. You may enter in any of the following: zip code, state or Event Name, the distance you're willing to travel, how many volunteers you have, the time of day you prefer, a specific date or date range and then click SEARCH.

Next, you'll be able to view the available sessions within the parameters of your search. If your search yields multiple locations, click the VIEW AVAILABLE SESSIONS box under the location you'd like to see available times to pack. You may select a date/time, and then be brought to a screen to RESERVE SPOTS. Here you'll enter if this is a new or previous group, group type, group name, and number of spots. You will need to click if you are attending the packing session or just setting up the reservation, and then click on our "I agree" statement, and then CONTINUE. When you have successfully registered, you will receive a confirmation email from us.

Begin by going to our main webpage at fmsc.org. LOGIN with your email address and password. Then hover over the MY ACCOUNT button in the top right corner and click on MANAGE MY RESERVATIONS.

• If you are the group leader, you can cancel the entire group’s reservation by clicking the CANCEL button next to the reservation that you would like to cancel.
• To leave a group, click the name of the group on the reservation that you would like to leave. From the next page you can click the LEAVE GROUP button.
• If you added someone else to the reservation with you (e.g. your child), you can remove them from the reservation by scrolling down on the page to the CONFIRMED VOLUNTEERS section & clicking the trash can icon next to their name.

Yes, if there are still spots available. Please update the number of spots you need on your online registration.

Please note that due to COVID-19 restrictions, group size is currently limited to five people and all volunteers must be registered in advance (no walk-ins). Please do not show up with more volunteers than are registered, but if there are available slots, you may add volunteers to your group (up to five per group).

If you are the Group Leader:

1. Begin by going to our main webpage at fmsc.org. LOGIN with your email address and password. Then hover over the MY ACCOUNT button in the top right corner and click on MANAGE MY RESERVATIONS.
2. Click EDIT next to your group.
3. If you know who will be joining:
• Add the names and email addresses of your new Group Members under the CONFIRMED VOLUNTEERS section. The number of spots you have reserved will automatically increase as long as there are additional spots available.
4. If you don't know who will be joining:
• Click EDIT under GROUP DETAILS
• Enter the new number of spots and click SAVE.

If you are a Group Member:

1. Begin by going to our main webpage at fmsc.org. LOGIN with your email address and password. Then hover over the MY ACCOUNT button in the top right corner and click on MANAGE MY RESERVATIONS.
2. Click the name of the group on the reservation that you would like to add to. From the next page you can add names and email addresses of additional Group Members under the CONFIRMED VOLUNTEERS section. The number of spots your group has reserved will automatically increase, as long as there are additional spots available.

Yes, please! We count on you to come even if your group size is fewer than the number of spots you reserved. However, please update the number of people who will be coming on your online registration. By releasing your spots, you are allowing other volunteers to sign up, which in turn helps us keep our food commitments to our partners.

If you are the Group Leader:

1. Begin by going to our main webpage at fmsc.org. LOGIN with your email address and password. Then hover over the MY ACCOUNT button in the top right corner and click on MANAGE MY RESERVATIONS.
2. Click EDIT next to your group.
3. Click EDIT under GROUP DETAILS.
4. Enter the new number of spots and click SAVE.

If you are a Group Member and you cannot attend your packing session, please cancel your reservation so others may fill your spot:

• If you joined the group yourself, you may cancel your spot by going to our main webpage at fmsc.org. LOGIN with your email address and password. Then hover over the MY ACCOUNT button in the top right corner and click on MANAGE MY RESERVATIONS. Click the name of the group on the reservation that you would like to add to. From the next page click the LEAVE GROUP button.
• If someone else registered you for your group, contact your Group Leader.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, please note the following:

• Volunteer capacity is currently limited in order to comply with social distancing guidelines. Depending on group size, your group may be split into subgroups. These subgroups will be socially distanced from each other, but we will do our best to keep their packing stations as close to each other as possible.
• The site capacities listed below are for normal operations, and during COVID-19 restrictions, maximum volunteers per site may vary. Visit our volunteer sign-up page to learn whether there are openings for a given shift.

The information below applies to normal operations only.

There is no minimum number of volunteers. Each permanent site has the following maximum number of volunteers per session:

• Aurora, IL: 160 volunteers (170 evenings and Saturdays)
• Chanhassen, MN: 160 volunteers (120 evenings)
• Coon Rapids, MN: 160 volunteers (180 evenings and Saturdays)
• Eagan, MN: 200 volunteers
• Libertyville, IL: 160 volunteers (180 evenings and 200 Saturdays)
• Mesa, AZ: 180-240 volunteers
• Richardson, TX: 110 volunteers
• Schaumburg, IL: 200 volunteers (250 evenings and Saturdays)

FMSC reserves the right to alter volunteer capacity as it sees fit. Our online Volunteer Registration System will always reflect the current availability.

Not at this time.

Per CDC guidelines, masks are strongly encouraged for all staff and volunteers regardless of vaccination status. FMSC will not request proof of vaccination status and trusts our volunteers and staff alike to make decisions that will best support the health and safety of its staff and volunteers alike. Please note the following:

• Masking policies are subject to change by site as required by local regulations.
• Acceptable masks include multi-layer cloth, non-medical disposable, or N95. All masks must fit snugly and completely cover your nose and mouth.
• Plastic face shields worn alone, neck gaiters, and bandanas are not acceptable. A mask with a face shield is acceptable.

The minimum age for volunteering is 5 years old. For safety reasons, children under the age of 5 are not allowed to participate in packing sessions.

Please reach out to your local packing location for site specific verification information.

• Coon Rapids, MN: CInfo2@fmsc.org
• Eagan, MN: eaganinfo@fmsc.org
• Chanhassen, MN: CInfo@fmsc.org
• Aurora, IL: aurorainfo@fmsc.org
• Libertyville, IL: LibertyvilleInfo@fmsc.org
• Schaumburg, IL: sinfo@fmsc.org
• Richardson, TX: RIverifications@fmsc.org
• Mesa, AZ: Mesainfo@fmsc.org

Unless clearly marked as a Fully Invested Session, donations are not required to pack; however, we humbly request them. Each volunteer packs about $50 worth of food. FMSC receives no government aid. We can only send meals as we have funding. FMSC relies on donations from volunteers like you. Nearly everyone is able to contribute something, but we leave the amount up to you. Many groups and individuals make advance fundraising a fun part of their service project. As you're willing and able, you may donate on the day you volunteer (by cash, check or credit card), or donate online before or after you pack. Please share this information with every member of your group and prayerfully consider the impact you can make.

Please plan to arrive 10-15 minutes prior to your packing session to check-in. Your orientation and packing instructions will take place during your scheduled shift time.

We highly recommend all volunteers wear closed-toed shoes. If you volunteer in the warehouse, closed-toed shoes will be required. Otherwise, please come in clean, comfortable clothes.

Due to FDA compliance for food manufacturing plants, NO jewelry may be worn in the packing room. Please review our Jewelry Policy and share with fellow volunteers.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, if you or anyone in your household is experiencing any symptoms related to COVID-19, please stay home. If you or anyone in your group develops symptoms while packing, you and your group will be asked to leave immediately. The information below applies to normal operations.

If you have had a cough, fever, diarrhea, pink eye, or have been vomiting or are contagious within the last 24 hours, we ask that you reschedule your packing time.

1. Begin by going to our main webpage at fmsc.org. LOGIN with your email address and password. Then hover over the MY ACCOUNT button in the top right corner and click on MANAGE MY RESERVATIONS.
2. Click EDIT next to your group.
3. Click RESCHEDULE
4. Click on another time & date that would work for you.

No. We only hold food-packing sessions during each permanent site's regularly scheduled shift times.

Please note: All volunteers must go through orientation and training at the beginning of each session. Please arrive 10-15 minutes before your scheduled start time and plan to stay until the end of your session.

Yes. We want to offer the full volunteer experience to all volunteers, both returning and new, and we need to ensure that proper packing procedures are followed. Volunteers must attend both the FMSC orientation and the packing orientation each time they visit.

We are honored to serve as the activity for birthday parties of volunteers who meet the minimum age requirements to be a volunteer! If you celebrate your birthday with us, you will receive a free FMSC t-shirt and an optional "Happy Birthday" serenade by fellow volunteers. Please note that none of our facilities can accommodate treats or gathering spaces. Please celebrate with goodies off-site.

Yes! We reserve one of our most important tasks for sit-down volunteers. Volunteers can sit while labeling bags—this is a vital step to the packing process. This task entails putting our FMSC label on each bag before it is filled with food.

Yes! Each site is accessible and has a job for everyone!

We ask that special needs/transition groups contact the FMSC Site Manager to schedule a volunteer time. Please do not register your group on the online registration system without contacting the Manager first.

FMSC advises volunteers with food allergies to exercise caution when determining whether or not to participate in food packing. We are able to provide a complete list of ingredients in FMSC's food products, but we cannot guarantee the environments of our ingredients' manufacturing. Volunteers with extreme food allergies or allergies to any of the listed ingredients are advised not to pack.

"Fully Invested" packing sessions take place on days when our sites are normally closed: Sundays or holidays. These sessions require all volunteers to support us with a donation of $50 per person or $150 per household. The $50 donation will fund 216 meals for children who desperately need our help. These shifts are designed for those who would like to help with their hands and also pay for the food they will be packing.

Everyone who signs up for a Fully Invested session must acknowledge that they understand this is a special session that requires a donation. All of our other packing sessions that are not clearly marked as "Fully Invested" do not require a donation.

Each meal costs less than 25 cents to make.

FMSC devotes more than 90 percent of total donations to feeding kids. Less than 10 percent goes to fundraising, administration and overhead combined.

Most of our support comes from individuals, followed by churches, foundations and corporations.

Yes. We purchase all of the raw ingredients: rice, soy, vegetables and vitamin flavoring. The ingredients are one of FMSC's main expenses.

Yes, we do. Feel free to check out some fundraising ideas.

No. We welcome people of every faith to participate in our life-giving mission.

No. Our food is given to the neediest children, regardless of their faith or whether a Christian message is delivered. All of God’s children deserve to be fed.

All partners first apply for meals online. We evaluate applications for partnership based on the percentage of children being fed, funding availability and customs clearance experience before presenting them to the FMSC Distribution Committee for prayerful approval or denial.

Meals are allocated to existing partners a year at a time, giving partners a stable food supply they can count on. Our first priority is to serve the requests of existing partners. We consider new partners as we have the capacity.

We have sent food to nearly 70 countries in our history. Check out a visualization of where we've sent FMSC food.

Not very often. Our meals were designed for the severe undernutrition that is more common in the developing world. Its taste and texture is not as well received in the U.S. When we get requests from domestic hunger programs, such as following a disaster, we send a sample box. This has not led to any large-scale requests. International hunger is “what we do best.”

No. All of our food is donated to the recipients. We do ask that the partnering (or recipient) organization pay for the shipping charges.

No, we are not associated with any other feeding businesses. We are not the same company as Kids Against Hunger, Feed the Children, Impact Lives or any other feeding group. We are a Christian 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. We are independently audited every year and have received an "Exceptional" rating by the Charity Navigator, indicating our organization exceeds industry standards and outperforms most charities in its cause.

We partner with an exceptional network of missions and humanitarian organizations to distribute FMSC food. See a map of our partners from the past two years.

Halal certification means our three MannaPack™ meal formulas have been examined and declared permitted or lawful for Muslim people to eat. Our meals are verified to contain no pork, meat slaughtered improperly or alcohol and have not come into contact with any substances that could violate Islamic dietary laws.

The seal helps us achieve our mission: getting nutritious meals through to the children who need them most. FMSC distributes food in many countries where Muslim people are the predominant population, including Afghanistan and Somalia. To avoid any potential barriers in shipping, transportation, distribution and acceptance, we applied for and received the halal seal to print on our meal bags and boxes. It is a food security measure, along with many others we take. Throughout our nearly 30 years in operation, more than 99 percent of our meals have reached the children they’re intended to serve. We want to preserve that strong track record.

No. FMSC has not changed our Christian mission: to feed starving children in the name of Jesus. In fact, the seal helps us to serve better in the pattern of Jesus—across cultural barriers. We have changed none of our beliefs and, in fact, we pray in Jesus’ name over every meal we produce. The seal does not mean FMSC agrees with Muslim theology. It simply means the meals comply with Muslim dietary laws, nothing more.

FMSC regards all people equally. We believe and practice Jesus’ teachings to love and serve everyone unconditionally. FMSC is called to a kingdom mission that transcends political or nationalistic alignments: to be the hands and feet of Christ on earth.

The Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA) carefully examined each ingredient in our three meal formulas, as well as the sources and suppliers of each ingredient. This process focused strictly on food content. There was no Muslim prayer or ceremony involved, nor has FMSC come under the authority of any Muslim cleric or religious law.

Yes. We were guided through the certification process by Dr. Joe Regenstein, professor of food science at Cornell University. Dr. Regenstein is an expert in halal (Muslim) and kosher (Jewish) food certification. A friend of FMSC who has supported our MobilePack meal-packing in Ithaca, New York, Dr. Regenstein recommended FMSC receive this certification to nullify any cultural barriers to our mission around the world.

We do not plan to pursue the kosher seal at this time because there is no identified need. We have not been asked for food aid by organizations working in predominantly Jewish communities or in the nation of Israel. We could readily apply for kosher certification if the need arises.