Working Together To Feed Our Neighbors

October 3^rd, Trinity United Methodist Church in Ruston created 25,000 meals for hungry people in their parish. They did it through the nonprofit organization called Pack Shack. Pack Shack is based in Arkansas and their primary mission is to address hunger on a neighborhood level.

A local organization raises the funds to cover the meals then calls Pack Shack. They bring in dry ingredients, packaging, and a party. “I sort of knew what to expect, but I could have never imagined how much fun it would be to cram 200 volunteers into our gym and package 25,000 meals” said Marie Burns, one of the coordinators of the event. Volunteers stood around funnels and poured measured ingredients into ready-made bag.

The bags were then carried to volunteers who did final measurements, then heat sealed the bags. From there the finished bags were boxed up for distribution. All this is done with music playing and periodic breaks from working to dance together.

“People are already asking when we will do it again. The most common statement heard that night was how much everyone loved serving along side multiple generations across all 3 of our services” said Burns. “It was a unifying experience for our church body and the fact that the food all stays here locally has our congregation excited that we are making a difference right in our own backyard.”

One bag holds 8 servings, so, 3,250 total bags were made, equaling 25,000 meals. To date, Trinity has disbursed more than 700 bags of food to area food pantries, totaling over 6,000 servings of food. If you are interested in hosting a Pack Shack “Feed the Funnel” party you can visit their website at www.thepackshack.org.