Attendees of the 2014 Annual Conference Session were invited to help package meals for the
hungry again this year as part of the annual event.
The food packaging benefitted Haiti and took place on Saturday, June 7.
Outreach, Inc. is the organization managing the packaging effort.
Outreach has the mission of providing safe water, food, medical care and education in the U.S.
and abroad. The organization arranges mobile food packaging events for disaster preparedness
and relief, school backpack programs, food banks and pantries and food aid facilities.
Outreach has packaged 260 million meals nationwide to date this year, said Leon Sporrer, Event
Coordinator.
Sporrer has been with Outreach for going on nine years.
Why does he do it?
“Because I feel it’s the right thing to do,” Sporrer said.
Each package contains rice, soy, vitamins, beans and vegetables.
One bag feeds six people, said Sporrer.
Participants don hairnets and in some cases face masks, and work on an assembly line to package
the meals.
The goal for packaging during the Annual Conference Session was 35,000 meals. Three lines
were available for 10 people per line, which ultimately could produce 2,000 meals per-hour per-
table.
As of lunchtime Saturday 6480 meals were packaged. Future packaging was planned if the 35K
meal goal was not met.
Sporrer is personally enriched by coming to events such as the Annual Conference Session.
“I meet a lot of great people,” he said.
Humberto Gonzalez, of Broadway UMC in Council Bluffs was among the group that packaged
meals.
“I know what “be hungry” means,” Gonzalez said.
“This can really make a difference,” said Gonzalez. “This might be the only thing they would
have to eat that day.”
Gonzalez praised the food packaging initiative.
“This is testimony of what the church can do in favor of people in need,” he said. “I was hungry
and you fed me, Matthew 25.”
The food packaging event is a project of the Board of Global Ministries of the Iowa Annual
Conference. Contributions for the project went through the Iowa Annual Conference Treasurer
and were collected at the Annual Conference Session.
For more information or to get involved contact Hugh Stone at Hugh8@juno.com or 641-414-
4876.
