Cory “Santa” Simpson, of Fort Dodge, even brought one of his elves — Presley “Sprinkles” Lawrence, 9.

“It’s all about giving,” Simpson said. “It’s faith in action.”

Lawrence is a three-time veteran of the event.

“We have nothing like this on the North Pole,” she joked.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Cory "Santa" Simpson, of Fort Dodge, and Presley "Sprinkles" Lawrence, 9, of Fort Dodge, work on sealing meal bags during the Feed My Starving Children food packing event in the Community Christian School gym.

While the pair worked sealing meal bags, the tender subject of elf wages came up.

“They’re union scale,” Simpson said. “They get carrots, oats, hay … oh, you said elves.”

Heidi Kramer, of Fort Dodge, brought her three daughters to help pack meals. This is their fourth year in a row.

She hoped they would take home a message of caring.

“The idea is to help others,” Kramer said. “Someday they’ll be doing this with their families. This also ties in with the season.”

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Lana Waggoner, of Clare, closes up the bag of vitamins and minerals that are part of the food packs at the end of her shift Saturday during the Feed My Starving Children food packing event in the Community Christian School gym. Waggoner came to the event with a group of her fellow retired teachers.

One of those daughters, Zoey Kramer, 6, was helping to seal the plastic bags. It took all she had to press the handle down to make a good seal.

Did it make her tired?

She just shook her head “no.”

Lana Waggoner, of Clare, described her job.

“I was a scooper of dried vegetables and vitamins,” she said.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Colette Passow, 8, of Badger, gets a little help in the elevation department Saturday as she adds the dehydrated vegetable component to a meal pack during the Feed My Starving Children food packing event in the Community Christian School gym.

Waggoner was working with a group of friends that, like her, are retired teachers.

“I do have some time on my hands,” she said. “This is something I like to do with friends that’s helping the community and others.”

A mistake or two is bound to happen over the course of a two-hour shift, maybe two scoops of dried vegetables or too much rice. Waggoner and her friends had a low reject rate.

After a short “discussion,” they reached a number for those rejections.

“One bag,” Waggoner said.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Jessica Peterson, of Lehigh, applies labels Saturday during the Feed My Starving Children food packing event in the Community Christian School gym. Peterson worked all three shifts of the day-long event.

Megan Frankowski was the mobile pack supervisor for Feed My Starving Children. She works out of the Eagan, Minnesota, office.

She said they were expecting over 500 volunteers over the course of three shifts on Saturday.

“I get to do the Lord’s work,” she said.

The packed and boxed meals will be sent to one of the organization’s warehouses for later distribution. She did not know yet where the results of Saturday’s efforts would end up.

She said a current destination for their aid has been to the victims of Hurricane Melissa, which devastated much of Jamaica.

Jessica Peterson, of Lehigh, didn’t just come for one shift, she stayed for the whole day.

She even worked in the time between shifts.

“I just do what needs to be done,” Peterson said.

For more information on Feed My Starving Children see fmsc.org