Meals With a Mission
The Olney FFA Meals with a Mission service project took place in the RCHS Aux Gym.
The total is in, and it’s enough to feed the entire town of Olney, Ill., three times. Ladies and gentleman, the Olney FFA Chapter packaged 27,000 meals! For one of the National Days of Service, Monday Feb. 23, the Olney FFA Chapter hosted a meal packaging event. They used the Meals of Hope Organization to provide materials, and titled the event Meals with a Mission. Through this, the chapter was able to get their chapter members, school and community to support an essential cause.
Step 1: The First Scoop of Oats
This whole idea started in June, when the event coordinator, Emma Hefferman, went to the Washington Leadership Conference (WLC). While there, she packaged over 63,000 meals for the community of Washington D.C. with hundreds of other FFA members. After her experience, she decided to carry-out the same mission within her community.
“The Meals of Hope meal packing event I did at the Washington Leadership Conference was so much fun. It was so impactful and inspired me to host an event through Meals of Hope within my own chapter,” said Emma Hefferman, a junior at Richland County High School (RCHS).
Emma Hefferman and Natalie Zwilling loaded meals at WLC.
Step 2: Add a Dash of Cinnamon
After the initial idea, the next step was to secure funding. The chapter filled out The Mashoffs Impact Grant where they received $10,000 to fund this event.
“I found out about The Mashoffs Impact Grant from the Olney FFA Chapter President, Owen Kocher, who is an employee at The Mashoffs. Without Owen and The Mashoffs’ generosity, this event would not have been possible,” said Hefferman.
The grant covered the cost of materials from the Meals of Hope Organization, and refreshments for the volunteers.
The next step was to secure these volunteers. For this, teachers at RCHS signed up their classes to work, and overwhelmed the chapter with support. At the event, over 140 volunteers — from community members and students, to teachers and the Illinois Association FFA State Sentinel Paige Sierens — were in attendance.
Table 1 packaged over three boxes of oatmeal over the course of the day!
Step 3: Heat Seal the Bag
Upon entry, all volunteers got hairnets and gloves to ensure proper health regulations. Then, the volunteers went to a table to work with 8-10 other volunteers.
At the table, the bag went under the funnel where a heaping cup of oats, a scoop of sugar, a dash of cinnamon, and two ladles of apples were added. Then, the bag was weighed to make sure that it was between 10.9 oz and 11.1 oz to ensure accuracy. After being approved, the bag was heat sealed and closed off. Next, a label was added, and the bag was placed onto a tray to await a box. Finally, after 36 bags were ready, they would enter a box and be sealed; ready to be opened and eaten by their consumer.
Step 4: Box Up for Delivery
When all was said and done, the chapter packaged over 27,000 meals, and donated them to The Master’s Hands, a local food pantry. Through this event, the Olney FFA Chapter asked not what their community could do for them, but what they could do for their community. To host an event similar to this, visit the Meals of Hope website to help your community!
