Program Facilitator

A legacy of generosity: Why Kevin included FMSC in his will. A long-time Feed My Starving Children volunteer and donor, Kevin Reed, decided to make FMSC a beneficiary in his will. Here's how he and his family came to the decision to feed kids for generations to come: Seeing poverty in Haiti opened his eyes. After years of volunteering, Kevin and his wife attended the FMSC Spring Gala and were delighted to win the raffle for a Food In Action Trip to Haiti with then-CEO, Mark Crea. What he didn't know is how much this trip would change his outlook. What Kevin saw shocked him. He had never visited a developing country, let alone one of the poorest in the world. It was all new to him: the shanty towns, the high unemployment, the lack of food. These disparities from his own home opened his eyes more than any video or advertisement he'd seen. "It brought everything so much closer to reality," he said, explaining that the trip prompted him to get even more involved with FMSC. Making a charitable bequest in his estate plans. Christian nonprofits like FMSC are funded by generous people like Kevin. Data from Giving USA(TM) shows that Americans are some of the most generous people in the world (ranked sixth globally), giving a total of $617.2 billion to charity in 2025 alone. 10% of those gifts were made by bequest. The Reeds wanted their estate plans to provide for their daughter and keep feeding kids. By creating a will and including a bequest to FMSC, they accomplished both. Kevin said he values FMSC's transparency and efficiency so he knew he could trust FMSC to use his gift well even after he is gone. "I think a lot of parents struggle with wanting to leave a financial legacy for, for their children," Kevin said. "But I think legacy giving and having instructions in your will is actually a great way to not just have a financial legacy, but to have a legacy of service and volunteering." He hopes their choice to be generous in their plans will show their daughter how important generosity was to them. August is Make a Will Month. If you delayed creating a will, you're not alone - 70% of Americans don't have an updated will. But it's not too late! And if the cost of making a will is a barrier, then Fmsc has good news! For Make a Will Month, FMSC is partnering with FreeWill. Create your free will in 20 minutes or less through FreeWill. As you make or update your plans, you can choose to keep feeding kids for years to come. Donate now. Donate by credit card, bank account or digital wallet.

A partnership that keeps growing. BY: Kevin Marinacci, CEO Fabretto's partnership with Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) began nearly two decades ago. When they first started working with Fabretto in Nicaragua, it became a building block for its school feeding program. Before that, putting food on the table every day was a much bigger challenge. What started as a meal program has grown into something much larger. One of the clearest examples is happening right now in Guatemala, where students at Talita Kumi, one of Fabretto's Impact Partners, are harvesting corn that will end up on their own plates, paired with MannaPack meals. Angeli, a student at Talita Kumi, explains it simply: "Corn can be useful to us in many ways. Sometimes we harvest the corn and can use it to make tortillas, tamales, or anything else. It can even be used in drinks." A partnership built on listening. This model has roots almost 20 years ago in Nicaragua. FMSC had been providing MannaPack meals to children in Fabretto's programs there for several years, and the meals were making a difference. Children were coming to school, staying in school, and growing. What made the difference wasn't just the food. Its partnership was never one-way. FMSC was always ready, willing, and able to listen to ideas and innovations that Fabretto brought to them. And over time, that openness led to something bigger than either of Fabretto anticipated. Fifteen years ago, Fabretto were a founding member of FMSC's first CROPPS group and hosted the inaugural meeting in its offices in Managua. CROPPS is FMSC's in-country partner network to share best practices, practical solutions, and celebrate fellowship. It's about organizations helping each other, sharing resources, whether that was food or methodologies. Out of those early meetings came important initiatives like a shipping initiative that saved smaller partners time and money. Today, FMSC has CROPPS groups in over 12 countries. Just last month, Fabretto participated in a CROPPS meeting in Guatemala. Fabretto also hosted mobile packing sessions with local Nicaraguan volunteers at its warehouse. Just like FMSC in the United States brings volunteers from churches, schools, and corporate groups, Fabretto did the same in Nicaragua. That was an opportunity for Nicaraguans to participate in ending hunger in their own communities. Fabretto sourced grain from local farmers and from its own farm, giving smallholder farmers fair and stable pricing and keeping more money in the Nicaraguan economy. Collaborating for innovation: MannaPack Mix. As its collaborations grew, Fabretto noticed something. The MannaPack included rice, and Nicaragua is a rice-growing country. The same farm families whose children were eating those meals were struggling to earn a living growing the very crop arriving in shipping containers from the United States. I remember a conversation with Hillary Autry, who was leading FMSC's work in Central America at the time. She asked how many more boxes of MannaPack Fabretto wanted. I told her: Hillary, I don't want more boxes. I want smarter boxes. Fabretto brought that observation to FMSC. They listened, asked questions, and worked with Fabretto to find a better way forward. What came out of those conversations became MannaPack Mix: the full nutritional blend, everything but the grain, paired locally with whatever crop grows best in that community. In Guatemala, that is corn. In parts of Africa, it might be sorghum or millet. Today, MannaPack Mix represents roughly 15% of FMSC's global production, and in places like East Africa, where international shipping costs can be prohibitive, sourcing grain locally helps develop the local economy and reduces the international shipping footprint, both contributing to a more sustainable program. This kind of innovation is possible because its missions align. Fabretto both want to make sure children don't go hungry, and when children are fed in body and spirit, they can achieve great things. In their education, in their growth, and in the growth of their communities. That kind of shared purpose gives you the trust to take risks and try something new. The partnership today. After Fabretto's programs in Nicaragua closed, Fabretto rebuilt around a new model, working alongside local nonprofit partners in Honduras and Guatemala. The knowledge and relationships Fabretto had built with FMSC carried forward into this new chapter. Fabretto is now working with its Impact Partners like Talita Kumi, Xch'ool Ixim, and FUNDAP to help them grow more of their own corn to pair with MannaPack Mix. Fabretto is deeply appreciative of long-time FMSC partners, Cross Catholic Outreach and Convoy of Hope, for supporting this work both financially and with technical assistance. Fabretto and its partners have also worked with communities to develop local recipes using MannaPack Mix, dishes that fit the tastes and traditions of the families eating them. The corn that fuels a child's school meal may have been planted by that same child's neighbors, in the same fields they pass every day, and served in a dish her own community helped create. What I find most meaningful about this is what it means for the people involved. It is not a handout. Fabretto is working together to feed children in need, and the smallholder farmers whose children eat in the school lunch program are the same families helping to grow that food. That brings development much more local, and frankly, in terms of dignity for those families, that matters deeply. Recognition, and what's ahead. Earlier this year, I had the chance to present at FMSC's Vision Retreat in South Florida, the annual gathering where FMSC brings its most important supporters together to talk about their vision for the future. They invite two partners to present. Fabretto was one of them. I spoke twice over the course of the weekend, once about its history and partnership, and once about Marketplace. Fabretto is not FMSC's largest partner. But over nearly two decades, the knowledge Fabretto helped create together in Nicaragua has helped launch initiatives that are now part of how FMSC operates globally. Being a catalyst in something that has grown that far is not something I take lightly. That evening, I spoke about FMSC's Marketplace, their retail platform selling artisan products and food from partners around the world. What started small is now a $3.5 million enterprise. Fabretto has been part of that for about 10 years. To date, FMSC Marketplace has purchased more than one million dollars in products from its network, including coffee, baskets, chocolate, jewelry, and honey, income going directly to artisans, farmers, and cooperatives in the communities Fabretto serve. Looking ahead, I think Fabretto can be a valued thought-and-do partner for organizations across Central America that want to move toward growing more of their own food locally and pairing it with MannaPack Mix. Central America is its sweet spot. And Fabretto can also be a sounding board for FMSC's partners in other regions, taking this same turn toward locally led solutions. I am deeply grateful for a partnership built on listening, innovation, and growing together.