The beauty and abundance of a Michigan fall day surrounded us we drove down country roads, cornfields on either side, to find the community church where we were supposed to “pack food.” I had no idea what we’d be doing, only that our co-op was participating in a service project, and my kids were excited about serving.
When we arrived, the fellowship hall was prepared with two long rows of tables. Each row had a series of totes or buckets filled with various dried foodstuffs. At one end of the table stood funnels made out of wide PVC pipes with small plastic bags fitted over one end. At the other end, a taping machine to seal the bags stood ready. Young children were stationed on chairs, fully able to follow the instruction of “one scoop in each funnel".” Older children, teens, and adults lined up, grabbed a bagged funnel and began to file through the line.
Rice, barley, protein mix, dried seasonings, dehydrated veggies, bullion, garlic powder, tape, repeat. What a joy to see young children diligently scooping and pouring into each funnel. For many of the teens, it quickly became a competition. Some tried to double time it, with a funnel in each hand, until those in charge said that they can actually pack more if each person only does one. The sealed bags were packed into boxes of 60 packets, ready to be delivered to a local food pantry. With the demand on the food pantry, these will quickly disappear.
Each bag makes a vegetable barley soup. It is survival, or starvation, rations for a family. One of these each day provides the necessary nutrients to stay alive. My kids were appropriately awed by what they were doing. They asked lots of questions on the way home. It was a wonderful lesson, especially going into the holidays when we are overwhelmed with the abundance that God has given us.
