EMU Y-Serve, a student-run organization focused on volunteer service in the community, hosted the event on Friday and Saturday in partnership with the Harrisonburg Tacos 4 Life restaurant and the Feed My Starving Children nonprofit. For every meal sold at Tacos 4 Life locations, the company donates a portion of the proceeds to FMSC to help purchase Manna Packs. These nutrient-rich bagged meals, specially formulated for children, are then distributed by the nonprofit to schools, orphanages, medical clinics and feeding programs in about 100 countries. 

In its most recent fiscal year, the organization provided 375 million meals to mission partners worldwide, according to Brian Yeich, regional development adviser for FMSC. He said that the total meals packed at the EMU event exceeded the organization’s goal of 101,088 meals. 

“We are so grateful that God brought together FMSC, Tacos 4 Life, and the greater EMU community to feed God’s starving children, hungry in body and spirit,” he said. “To not only meet but actually exceed the meal-packing goal by over 12,000 meals is a testament to the people of the Harrisonburg community and the generosity of Tacos 4 Life, which sponsored these meals.”

On Friday and Saturday, Yoder Arena transformed into a meal-packing plant. Teams of volunteers scooped vitamin powder, dried vegetables, dehydrated soy and rice into bags, which were then weighed for consistency, sealed, and placed into boxes. The boxes were loaded onto a truck bound for the warehouse, where they will be distributed to children in need. 

As she finished a volunteer shift packing meals on Friday afternoon, EMU junior Sara Kennel, a member of the Y-Serve leadership team, said she had a wonderful experience working with a group of EMU students, staff and field hockey players, as well as students from Rocktown High School. She said she appreciated how FMSC partners with local organizations on the ground.

“They’re not just handing out meals,” she said. “They’re specifically committed to children for a designated length of time and, within that time, working to find other solutions to feed and provide for them more sustainably.”

The event at EMU has sparked a trend in the Harrisonburg community. Jeremy Hunter, operating partner of the Tacos 4 Life Harrisonburg location, said that James Madison University has agreed to host a MobilePack event at the Atlantic Union Bank Center on Sunday, April 27. You can sign up for that event .

These meal-packing events are part of a larger effort by the Arkansas-based Tacos 4 Life restaurant chain to donate and pack 10 million meals by June 2025 to celebrate its 10th anniversary.

Watch of the EMU MobilePack event in its Tell Me Something Good segment with Taylor Rizzari.

Thank you to all the volunteers who participated, including those from Park View Federal Credit Union, Merck, and Carmax.

“This project was a bear to organize with so many logistics and details, and the results were truly beautiful,” said Brian Martin-Burkholder, university chaplain for EMU. “Many volunteers reported how much fun it was to pack meals together for a few hours. We’re grateful for the level of participation this project received.”

Hundreds of volunteers from the Harrisonburg community and beyond will help out at a MobilePack event at EMU next month, packing more than 100,000 meals to feed malnourished children around the world.

The EMU Y-Serve student club is hosting the two-day event (held March 21-22) in partnership with the Harrisonburg  restaurant and the  nonprofit. EMU students, faculty and staff, as well as volunteers from local church congregations, retirement communities, businesses and civic organizations will join together for the major meal-packing project at the EMU University Commons.

Register online for a two-hour shift at: 

Brian Martin Burkholder, university chaplain for EMU, said he noticed an  in the local newspaper about the Tacos 4 Life restaurant’s opening and felt that its mission of feeding malnourished children aligned with Y-Serve’s goal of serving others as the hands and feet of Jesus.

“As a university steeped in the Anabaptist faith tradition, EMU has emphasized companioning marginalized people and offering whatever resources we have to meet human need,” he said. “This is another way we can practice our core values of peace and justice and active faith.”

EMU senior Halie Mast, president of Y-Serve, helped organize the volunteer event.

“This is a huge project that our service club has taken on this year, and it’s probably the largest project I’ve ever helped plan,” she said. “A lot of time, planning, and prayer have gone into this undertaking, and I hope that Christ will be elevated through this work.”

This event is part of a larger effort by the Arkansas-based Tacos 4 Life restaurant chain to pack and donate 10 million meals by June 2025 to celebrate its 10th anniversary. For every item sold at Tacos 4 Life locations, the company donates a portion to Feed My Starving Children, which is used to purchase Manna Packs. These rice-based nutritious meal bags are given to missions and humanitarian organizations in more than 70 countries.

Jeremy Hunter, operating partner of the Tacos 4 Life Harrisonburg location, said the 100,000 meals donated by his store for the MobilePack event at EMU amounts to a $29,000 contribution to Feed My Starving Children.

“I’m excited for us to bring the Harrisonburg community together to pack 100,000 meals,” he said, adding that this is the first MobilePack event his location has partnered with. “You all at EMU have beaten JMU to the punch!”

Read more about the event in the Daily News-Record .

Around 300 first-year and upperclass students learned about opportunities to get involved with agencies and organizations representing aging and disabilities services, early and elementary education, ESL tutoring for children and adults, hunger and housing, wellness and environment, mission and ministry and youth and adult services.

Photo by Jim Bishop

Here, Mary Rodihan (l.), partnership development and program manager with Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, talks with Brigette Funk, a first-year student from Strasburg, Va., and to Becky Chapin, a first-year student from Richmond, Va.

First-year students are expected to do at least 15 hours of community service as part of requirements in a "First Year Seminar" course, according to Deanna F. Durham, director of , at EMU. "We had a great turnout," she said of the event, "and many students will do more than the required number of hours once they get involved as volunteers with these programs."

First-year students set foot on campus one day, and the next, they stepped out in service to the local community.

For the first time, as part of their orientation program, some 300 EMU students with their orientation leaders spent Saturday, Aug. 28, volunteering at 17 non-profit organizations in and around Harrisonburg.

“It makes sense to me,” said student Terianne Kauffman from Paradise, Pa. “Mennonites believe that service is an important part of being a Christian, so why not start off the year [at EMU] with an experience like this.”

Debbie Keiser, Pioneer, Ohio, slices bagels for serving at the Our Community Place “fun festival.”
Photo by Jim Bishop

Ms. Kauffman and some 14 fellow students spent the afternoon stacking wood, pulling weeds and leveling gravel on a parking lot at the Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center west of the city as part of the “Community Learning Day of Service.”

Before the students swarmed to area non-profits, they were hosted by and treated to lunch at a number of locally-owned restaurants. Transportation to and from assignments was provided by Harrisonburg Transit and EMU vans.

At Booksavers, student volunteers looked up donated books on the Internet to determine prices for the used volumes that in turn are sold at discount prices to raise funds for relief programs.

“I’ve never done this before, but it’s kinda fun,” said student Jason Hostetter of Harrisonburg, working next to fellow student Maggie Parker from Wichita, Kan. “I’m amazed at how many books they have here.”

Another student group assisted at a “fun festival” sponsored by Our Community Place on N. Main Street across from The Little Grill, a unique restaurant that operates as a worker-owned collective. The group helped make and serve food, did face painting, played volleyball and interacted with festival participants.

(L. to r.): Marc Yoder, Belleville, Pa.; Paul Rutt, Luray, Va.; and Chris Lehman, Chambersburg, Pa., sort donated housewares at the Thrift Shop.
Photo by Jim Bishop

Some 15 students sorted through contributed toys and clothing at Mercy House’s thrift store, which helps raise money to support the homeless shelter.

Other students unloaded donated merchandise and sorted and priced clothing at the local Thrift Shop.

“I’ve never done this before (sorting clothes),” said student Kristi Kolb from Spring City, Pa. “I think it’s cool to help out in this way, and it benefits a lot of people in need. It’s interesting to see what people bring in,” she added.

“I think this gives freshman a better idea of the many different opportunities for service available in the local community,” said sophomore orientation leader Shannon Yoder from Harrisonburg. “If they are interested in getting involved in a certain project, they’ll know how to get in touch with the right people.”

The day began with welcoming speeches from Harrisonburg Vice-Mayor Rodney Eagle; Ron Copland, an Eastern Mennonite Seminary student and founder of The Little Grill restaurant; Adam Starks, a 2003 EMU graduate and manager of Panera Bread, which donated food to the event; and Sylvia Romero of the Shenandoah Valley Migrant Education Agency.

Deanna Durham
Photo by Jim Bishop

, community learning coordinator at EMU, felt that the event was “successful,” adding: “We wanted students to realize from when they first arrive on campus that they are not coming just to a college campus, but to a real community that has both needs and opportunities for learning.”