This week I took part in Ithaca’s Pack Mobile event where we went to a local church to help pack meals for starving children in Africa. This event was totally different than what I expected, and I was surprised at the number of people from all over Ithaca who came and helped out as well. Basically, everybody was loading rice, soy, and an essential vitamin mixture into plastic bags that were sealed and packaged, ready to be shipped off. These bags could be used as an entire meal for people who are starving, and live in places with a severe food shortage. I was amazed at how productive we were, and we were told that we made enough meals to feed 99 children for an entire year.  This was honestly incredible to think about how just a few hours of service could help to feed nearly a hundred children for a year. Afterwards the organization also showed us a short clip of some of the children they have previously helped out, and the impact that these meals had was huge. In one instance, a child was so emaciated and weak that he could barely walk, but after being given access to proper food and nutrition through this program, he was able to run around with his friends and attend school. One of the biggest things I took away from this night though, was that each bag only cost 25c. This made me realize just how fortunate we are to live in a country with constant access to food and water. Sometimes I find it easy to think about what I don’t have in life, rather than the things I do have, and I often take many things for granted like being able to eat multiple meals a day. Learning about the lives of other children less fortunate than me has inspired me to appreciate the small things in my life more, because there are many people out there who would really appreciate even a 25c bag of nutritious food.