RICHMOND, Va. -- Southern Baptist congregations have been challenged to mobilize food relief for hungry Iraqis when humanitarian aid finally is able to cross the border, the Baptist Press reported.

Congregations can assemble a box of dry food that will feed a family of five for about a month for less than $60. Jim Brown, director of world hunger and relief ministries for the International Mission Board, is challenging all 42,000 Southern Baptist congregations to participate.

"This is a great way for Southern Baptists who can't actually go themselves to minister in a personal way to Iraqi people," Brown said. "This isn't relief that is going to be mass-distributed in a refugee camp either. It will be specifically delivered to hungry families in the towns and villages of Iraq once peace has been restored to the country."

The food aid will be delivered without regard to ethnic or religious identity, Brown said.

The boxes will contain staple food items such as beans, lentils, rice, flour, salt, sugar, loose tea and powdered milk.

Evangelistic tracts or other items of literature could cause the aid shipment to be rejected by authorities and must not be included.

The outside of each box will, however, quote John 1:17 in Arabic: "For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ." It also will identify it as "A gift with love from the Southern Baptist churches in America."

Disaster relief offices of Baptist state convention will receive boxes and, in partnership with the IMB, will coordinate delivery to the shipping point, Brown said.