Volunteers hope to produce 1.25 million meals for starving children around the world during an event hosted by the Feed My Starving Children organization Aug. 1–2 at the Berry Center.

More than 3,000 volunteers have signed up to help pack scientifically-formulated meals for children whose bodies cannot process normal food because of chronic starvation.

Victor Wayhan is the organization's area coordinator and said the number of children dying each day has dropped from 18,000 to 6,200 since the 1990s. While the 66 percent decrease is a step forward, he said, it is not the end of the road.

"We have childhood starvation on the run," Wayhan said. "I believe we can eradicate the number of starving children in our generation, and Feed My Starving Children is feeding that initiative."

Feed My Starving Children diverted already-allocated food to the Philippines after it was devastated by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. Food was also diverted to Africa and South America where political and economic unrest resulted in an influx of starving children. Friday's event is part of a nationwide emergency initiative to replace the 7 million meals that were given to those areas.

"When I came back to Houston, they had mentioned that they had a crisis situation and were short about 7 million meals because of excess demand in the far east due to the typhoon," Wayhan said. "They needed to have [the meals] made up by Sept. 1."

Events will also be held in cities across the country within a matter of weeks, Wayhan said, including cities such as Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles. However, Wayhan said Houston is a big player in the initiative due to the Port of Houston's shipping capabilities.

"The reason it's shipping out of Houston rather than Minneapolis [where Feed My Starving Children's headquarters is located] is much more effective and efficient," Wayhan said. "The expansion of the Port of Houston and Panama Canal [makes the food ship] very quickly and efficiently. The lead time gets cut by a week or more, and that can make a huge difference."

With packing events in Dallas and other Texas cities, the organization hopes to have 6 million meals packed within six weeks.

Wayhan said his reason for coordinating the event was a cross between his professional and religious backgrounds. He works as a supply chain professor at the University of Houston and is a devout Christian. The logistics he provides from his work helps run the events he puts on while his faith fuels it.

While volunteers are essential to physically get the work done, donations are also necessary to its operation since food is not free. Wayhan said on average volunteers donate $50 each.

"Obviously, there's a human resource component to it, but the food is not free," Wayhan said. "And so Houston is mobilizing financially. There's a financial component to that. The individuals packing are also providing financial resources to provide them. This is a gift from Houston to across the globe, and our hands and our financial resources are providing that food."

Volunteers can sign up or donate online at www.houstoncitypack.com by navigating the tabs at the top of the page. Setup is slated for 2-7 p.m. on Aug. 1 followed by a youth packing event from 8-10 p.m. On Aug. 2, four two-hour packing events begin at 7 a.m., 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. with teardown and cleanup from 6-10 p.m. The Berry Center is located at 8877 Barker Cypress Road, Cypress.