Local Church Reaches Out With Meals From The Heartland
Volunteers help package food for the mobile “Meals from the Heartland”
Oskaloosa, Iowa – One hundred years at anything is reason to celebrate, and the Central Reformed Church here in Oskaloosa wanted a way to help give back during their year long celebration.
Judi Braaksma said the group was performing a mobile packaging center for ‘Meals from the Heartland’. Some of the larger packaging events have been broadcast on local TV stations where hundreds of people gather to package the meals for distribution to starving people around the world.
Braaksma said that “the church wanted it to be a year of celebration and service, and we were big on celebration and short on service.” She recounts watching a special by Eric Hansen from KCCI over ‘Meals From The Heartland’. Braaksma remembers watching that report and thinking, “Wow, wouldn’t it be neat if 100 of our people could go up to Hy-Vee Hall”. As it turned out, those 100 people didn’t have to travel, they were able to stay right in Oskaloosa and help out.
After some searching for the next available packaging date that the church could participate in, she ran across the opportunity to host a mobile packaging event. After setting the event up with the Non-Profit that oversees ‘Meals From The Heartland’ in celebration of their 100 years, volunteers filed into the church, 50 at a time. Each group watched a 10 minute video before they took their turn helping to fill the baggies that contain enough food for 6 meals.
The church raised the funds to buy the food. “At a cost of twenty cents per meal, the Bible School kids set an initial fundraising goal of $700.00 and I believe they collected $1,600.00. They way surpassed their goal.” Braaksma said that after a special offering, they had $4,000.00 to use for the project.
That $4,000.00 would help them package and provide 20,000 meals.
Volunteers went to Des Moines to pick up the food supplies and all the equipment needed to package the food. “It’s wonderful, just wonderful,” Braaksma said of being able to see the project in action.
