Volunteers gathered at Leechburg’s United Methodist Church to pack meals to be sent to Uganda.
by Saundra McKee
A total of 30,024 meals packed by over 80 volunteers at Leechburg’s United Methodist Church from eight area churches were sent to Uganda, one of many desperately poor African nations. Most of the meals are given to schools for children who see education as their only hope out of dire poverty. For many children the school meal is the only meal they get for the entire day. Stop Hunger Now was founded in 1998 by Ray Buchanan, an ordained Methodist minister, to end hunger in our lifetime. Since 1998 they have provided over 225 million nutritious meals in 74 countries. The cost per meal is 29 cents.
Local churches who participated included: New Beginnings United Methodist Church in Apollo, Vandergrift First Methodist Church, First United Methodist Church of Kittanning, Manorville United Methodist Church, Central Presbyterian Church of Tarentum, Leechburg First United Methodist Church, Pine Run Community Church in Apollo and Union Avenue United Methodist Church in Kittanning. Local Scout Troops #589 from Apollo/Spring Church and #670 from Ford City also assisted.
Individuals and/or churches are welcome to get involved in this local effort. Next year’s packing of meals will be sponsored by the New Beginnings Church and will be held at the Oak Hill Fire Hall in Apollo. The tentative date for the event is September 23, 2017. The next planning meeting will be held on Wednesday May 24, 2017 at the Oak Hill Fire Hall at 12:30 p.m. For more information, contact Royanne Brayshaw at brayshaw3@yahoo.com