Churches to pack 45K meals
Volunteers gather to help distribute food to ‘toughest places on Earth’
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ROARING SPRING -- More than 200 volunteers will gather Saturday at the Roaring Spring Arch to package 45,000 meals ready for distribution to food insecure communities across the world.
On Friday, volunteers unloaded thousands of pounds of rice and beans for the repackaging event, which will begin at 9 a.m. and continue throughout the day as part of Cru Ministry's Unto PackHope Experience.
Based out of Mount Joy in Lancaster County, Unto has a humanitarian aid network in 190 countries but ships these packaged meals to 50 of the "toughest places on Earth," according to Unto PackHope Experience coordinator Steve Baker.
Christine Ebersole, a co-coordinator with Arch, said the group will primarily be packing the rice and beans delivered Friday.
"That's the most sustainable food," Ebersole said. "Rice is one of the major food groups in the world. It has protein and carbohydrates and it's pretty balanced for people who don't have food."
To take part in a PackHope Experience, prospective hosts raise $15,000 for the products, said Pastor John Nothwang of Christ Church and a member of the Roaring Spring Ministerium.
"A theme of our church is to bring the light of Christ to the Cove," said Nothwang, who has wanted to bring the experience to the area for more than six years. "I felt this would be a good way to bring the community together because it isn't any one church that is doing it."
He said the Arch received an anonymous $10,000 donation toward the project, which was contingent on the churches raising the remaining $5,000.
To raise that $5,000, Ebersole said potential donors were reminded that they probably throw $20 worth of food away every week.
"If each person gives $20, it multiplies pretty fast," she said. "When everyone works together, it helps."
Baker said that Roaring Spring's project is "somewhat unique" compared to other events.
"The way they're working together is a great model on how to involve the larger community," Baker said. "It involves a lot of churches instead of one large church."
Ebersole said the effort allows the volunteers to share the love of God and shows that God "cares about everybody."
Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458.