Central Missouri Food Bank
Columbia, Missouri
Recently, the First Christian Church of Macon, Missouri took their Vacation Bible School group to the Central Missouri Food Bank, to allow them to see the process that goes into making the buddy packs that are distributed to thousand of hungry school-aged students in our area each week. This sounded like a wonderful idea, so two members of our team, and one future member, went along on this adventure. Everyone had a great time, learned a lot, and came away with the idea that this was a project very definitely worth helping with.
But we also came away with some staggering figures, and some disheartening facts that we don't like facing. But we will add those in at the last, first lets talk about the adventure!
The First Christian Church had done their own peanut butter drive, giving members of the church the opportunity to donate jars of peanut butter, which would than be donated to the food bank. And the Church responded with more than 100 jars of peanut butter! These will go to help feed children over the weekend, who might not have enough to eat otherwise. The group said that they were very proud to be able to add these jars to the ones that were there, waiting to be distributed.
The day was first spent packing bags of snack crackers. There were boxes full of snack crackers sitting around. They used a scoop shovel to fill plastic bins, which were than taken to the packing tables. One person filled the bags, which were held open by another person. Than the bags were put through a sealer, which taped the bags closed. Next step was the label, which showed the contents of the bag. The bags were placed into boxes, which were sealed closed. These boxes were stacked on pallets, and when full the entire pallet of boxes were wrapped and taken to the warehouse. What fun to watch these young people be so excited to do this work, and to hear them say that they enjoyed helping others, and that this is doing what Jesus would want them to be doing!
Once the "shift" was completed, the group had a tour of the warehouse. And we heard the facts that really hit home. The warehouse was huge. And they turn over 2 million pounds of food every week. They do have a cooler, which will handle 25,000 pounds of perishable food, which they turn over quickly, due to the nature of the produce. They distribute 1800 senior boxes a month. They help supply 132 food panties, soup kitchens, and shelters. They have a pilot program in Boone County, where they are currently distributing 650 Veteran packs to needy veterans.
One of the best known programs is the Buddy Pack. These are packets of food that is sent home to children in need, to provide food for the weekend when schools are not in session. They currently distribute 7500 buddy packs a week, to 156 schools in the 32 county service area. This food is nutritious, easily opened by the child, and something that they can eat that does not require a lot of preparation. And it makes a huge difference in the lives of these children.
We have all seen the laminated cards at the grocery store, regarding donating to the food bank, and how much each dollar would buy. Because of their partnership, each dollar will purchase 15 pounds of food, which means 12 1/2 meals! They rely so much on donations, through local farmers and producers, partnerships with large corporations, and with people like you and me donating time and money.
We also learned that a lot of the cracker packets we did that day would be returning to our local community in a few weeks, to be distributed during the local food pantry disbursement. To know that we were helping our friends and neighbors was really a touching moment.
Please take a few minutes to check out our day spent at the Columbia Central Missouri Food Bank. We look forward to returning again one day very soon. For more information regarding the food bank or how you can get involved, click this link: Central Missouri Food Bank
A special thanks to Sarah Roberts for the use of her pictures.
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Dianna has definite ideas regarding
photos! Or else she is plotting revenge.
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Hayden found a friend was going, so he had a great time. And made new friends along the way.
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All the kids out in front, by the big spoon. Feeding America!
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After you bag, you staple the ingredients tag around the bag
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Dianna takes a break from scooping for a photo op with her young helper
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Sharon and Hayden enjoy some quality time together
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Hayden takes his turn at running
the tape sealer machine
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After you fill the bag, you have to twist it so that it is ready to go into the tape machine
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A group photo after working their shift
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Of course, a silly photo is always required
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Each child received a gift bag, as a way
of saying thanks. I think they liked them. And they could keep their hair
nets as well!
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The kids all had a great time. And on the way home, they traded electronic devices and helped each other with difficult levels and difficult games. And developed friendships that they won't soon forget.
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