Packaging Up Some Love And Caring

Students at Oskaloosa Christian School helped to package meals on Friday.

Students at Oskaloosa Christian School helped to package meals on Friday.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – How do you help feed the hungry? You do that by sharing a bit of food, and lots of love and caring.

Mike Frandsen, with Meals from the Heartland, was in town to help coordinate the effort of the Oskaloosa Christian School Students. In any year, Frandsen says that he will help coordinate up to thirty-five thousand volunteers at packaging events. “We really wouldn’t run without volunteers,” says Frandsen.

Frandsen explained that each meal, prepared in the fashion it is, costs twenty cents per meal, with six meals being in each bag, for a total cost of a dollar and twenty cents per bag.

Sure, you could probably make the packaged meals by machine. The meal package contains rice, soy protein, vitamins, minerals and dried vegetables (carrot, onion, tomato, celery, cabbage and bell pepper).

Nutritional information for each ½ cup dry serving: 210 calories, 0 grams fat, 286 mg sodium, 463 mg potassium, 41 g total carbohydrates, 3 g dietary fiber, 3 g sugars, 13 g protein.

But with each scoop added to the bag of ingredients goes some love and understanding for your fellow human being.

Meals From the Heartland just opened a new packaging facility in West Des Moines. The goal for Friday was to package 21,000 meals. This is but a portion of the 10 million meals the organization hopes to furnish to the hungry of the world, with 10% of that staying right here in Iowa to help feed our hungry neighbors.

Dr. Bob Stouffer is Principal at the Oskaloosa Christian School. He’s no stranger to the packaging assembly line and Meals From the Heartland. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for kids, especially here with chapel groups.”

In the chapel groups at each table, older students were teamed up with the younger students “building a stronger sense of collegiality. They are having a good time and doing something that’s very worth while,” said Stouffer.

“It’s a great way for Christians to help people who are less fortunate,” as Stouffer pointed out there are many starving people around the world and in Iowa.

Stouffer said he appreciates the 10% of the packaged food staying in Iowa. He recognizes that the need is great around the world, “but there’s a need in our own country too, and it’s nice to know it’s going someplace locally. It’s helping neighbors, people who are hungry.”

You can learn more about Meals From The Heartland by visiting them on their website, http://mealsfromtheheartland.org/

Posted by on Nov 9 2014. Filed under Local News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

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