FAIRMONT– Volunteers from the area are gearing up for the 15th annual Kids Against Hunger (KAH) food pack, which will be held Feb. 10 at the Fairmont Armory. Before that, students at Fairmont High School will hold a variety show at 7 p.m. this Wednesday night at the school’s Performing Arts Center, which will serve as a fundraiser for the organization.

Karen Sandhurst has been a long-time organizer of the pack. Since 2009, over 1.5 million meals have been packed locally and $408,000 has been raised to help cover the cost of the food and shipping.

Sandhurst said this year the goal is to pack 100,000 meals and raise $28,000, though last year more than that was packed and raised as it was a very good year.

Local food shelves can have as many of the meals as they request with the rest going to places with extreme need.

The variety show this Wednesday serves as a fundraiser but also creates awareness amongst the community about the pack and Kids Against Hunger in general. There’s usually about 10 acts in the show. T-shirts will be sold and there will be a free will offering. Sandhurst shared that six high school students are working to pull the event together.

“High schoolers have done a show I think since the beginning,” Sandhurst said.

For the pack on Feb. 10, 33 organized teams have signed up so far but there is room for a few more teams at 1:30 p.m. Sandhurst said many of the teams are comprised of businesses, church groups and service clubs.

The supplies for the pack come from the Sioux Falls Kids Against Hunger, which is a satellite location, meaning it’s a permanent packing site, whereas Fairmont’s is known as a mobile pack.

“They order supplies and it gets shipped here for the day. The Orphan Grain Train does the delivering, which saves on shipping costs,” Sandhurst explained.

Because of this, all of the money raised locally is sent to Sioux Falls, because all of the materials come from there.

“If we raise more money than we need here– like we need to raise at least $28,000– if we raise more, we can send the extra money to Sioux Falls because it will still pay for food and shipping, but somebody else might be packing it because they have groups coming in regularly,” Sandhurst said.

In order to raise money for the pack, Sandhurst said a business mailing goes out Nov. 1. Church groups and service clubs are also given information about the pack and often contribute.

“There are some individuals who want to be on the mailing list and contribute very faithfully,” Sandhurst said.

Speaking on the importance of the pack, Sandhurst said, “hunger continues to be a major problem in the world and we think we don’t have a problem here but we do. It’s around the world and around the corner.”

She shared that in the last few years visits to food shelves in Minnesota have hit an all time high. This year, over 10,500 of the meals packed will stay local.

In addition to the pack helping address the problem of hunger, Sandhurst said it’s a good way for people to give back.

“There’s nothing like doing a good thing for someone else to make you feel good about yourself,” she said.

It’s not too late to donate any amount for the pack and Kids Against Hunger organization. Those who wish to donate can send to Sue Homan at 921 Hengen St. in Fairmont with checks payable to Kids Against Hunger.

“The community supports it very well and that’s why we keep doing it. A lot of people thank us for organizing it and a lot of groups are anxious to pack and glad we have a mobile pack here,” Sandhurst said.