Bethlehem in Hebrew means “house of bread.” Bethlehem United Methodist Church in Bena has taken that name to heart by adopting the eradication of world hunger as a focal point of its ministry.

On Saturday, Feb. 17, the church will host its third meal packaging event in support of Rise Against Hunger.

A nonprofit organization founded in 1998, Rise Against Hunger is dedicated to providing meals to areas of the world that experience chronic food insecurity. According to its website, Rise targets “remote, last-mile communities within hunger pockets designated ‘serious’ or higher on the Global Hunger Index, which are the hardest places to reach and are often difficult to access, lack communication and have poor infrastructure.”

With headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina, and six international offices in Africa, Asia and Europe, Rise provides food-insecure communities around the world with nutritious packaged meals. Meals packaged at previous Bethlehem events were shipped to Hait...