All ages and abilities are invited to participate in a fun, hands-on activity at Annual Conference as we raise money for supplies and assemble rice meal packs for hunger relief.

JAMES DEATON
Content Editor

Are you attending the 2024 Michigan Annual Conference in Acme next month? If so, join others for a Rice Meal Pack hosted by veteran ministry partner Midwest Mission on Thursday, May 30, 2024. The event will be held from 9 am to noon, and 250 volunteers are needed for assembly. Standing and sitting jobs are available, and you can stay as long as you can.

Register to volunteer by marking your interest on the Annual Conference registration form. If you’ve already registered, click here to go to the main registration page, log in, and modify your registration. You’ll also have a chance to donate. You can also volunteer without attending Annual Conference. Groups of people, especially from nearby churches, can register to send a whole team of workers. For those individuals and groups coming just for the morning, click here or the button below.

Another way to participate, even if you won’t be there in person, is to donate funds for rice meal pack supplies. Midwest Mission is providing all the necessary supplies for the event—all they need are generous hearts to make it happen.

The deadline to donate funds for supplies is May 21. To donate, click here or the button below. Your $2 — or more, as you’re able to give — will multiply quickly since each $2 pack contains enough ingredients for six meals.

Following the success of last year’s inaugural Rice Meal Pack, organizers have raised the bar. They are confident United Methodists will come together to meet this year’s goal of raising $16,000 and packing 8,000 bags, which would provide a total of 48,000 meals. To date, $9,600 has been raised toward the $16,000 goal.

Last year, $10,000 was raised to purchase 5,000 rice meal packs at $2 per pack. Each pack has enough food for six meals, so 30,000 meals were packed in less than three hours. Last year’s packs were shipped to war-torn Ukraine just one month after they were assembled, and this year’s will go to a similar location in need.

Each meal pack contains a vitamin-filled seasoning packet, dried vegetables, rice, and soy. The only other ingredient you need is water. The meals are complete and have balanced nutrition, but you can add vegetables, meat, or other ingredients if available.

Midwest Mission has created a shelf-stable meal that is adaptable and easy to ship in bulk. The goal, says Rev. Leslee Fritz, pastor of Lansing: Grace UMC, who is helping coordinate the event, is to have a meal “that’s easy to fix no matter the circumstances people find themselves in, but also flexible so it can be adapted to the local culture as much as possible in terms of what people are used to eating.”

Last year’s Rice Meal Pack was a great intergenerational, sensory-friendly activity that brought people from all over the Michigan Conference together to do good work. There’s a job for everyone, and sitting is fine, whether measuring cups of rice or sealing bags.

“We had a great response,” noted Leslee. “We heard so many positive comments, which is part of why we’re doing it again. People enjoyed it, and they made it fun. The assembly lines competed, and everybody cheered wildly when they filled a box. Some groups were singing. It was a good time, and on top of it, it was work done for a good cause.”

Midwest Mission has been offering rice meal packs since 2018. Annual conferences and churches raise money and provide the space with tables and volunteers, and Midwest Mission supplies the meal pack components and guidance on assembling them. Then, Midwest Mission takes the packs back to their facility in Pawnee, IL, for shipment all over the world.

Leslee says Midwest Mission is a great partner for local churches to work with. They have the experience, help coordinate setup and cleanup, and make it easy for congregations to engage in mission in the comfort of their church building. Leslee invited them to host a Rice Meal Pack at her church, which was well received by church members.

“That’s one of the nice things about this particular hands-on mission. It really is accessible to everybody. We just hosted one at my local church. Kids were part of it. We had a 95-year-old woman sitting and using the scale. So, anybody can engage in this mission. And the more people do it, the more they realize how easy it is, how accessible it is, and how fun it can be.”

If you’re interested in having Midwest Mission host a Rice Meal Pack at your church, learn more on this web page and email them at [email protected].

Another good thing about Midwest Mission’s professionalism is how they’re able to track shipments of relief supplies, like the rice meal packs. Last year’s packs went to Ukraine. This year, the Michigan Conference will be notified at some point after the May 30 event where these rice meal packs are headed. Leslee says, “It’s nice that they close that loop for you, and you can get some sense of who and how you’ve helped.

Chantel Corrie, Midwest Mission’s Executive Director, thanked the Michigan Conference for last year’s successful event and can’t wait to see everyone on May 30 at the Grand Traverse Resort in Acme.

“Midwest Mission is not only about bringing hope and empowerment to the people we serve,” says Chantel, “but joy to the people who serve with us. Last year, Michigan Conference attendees finished packing 5,000 meals in half the time expected and left full of joy, wanting to do more! This year, you can help us meet our goal of packing 8,000 rice meals that will feed 48,000 people around the world.”

Since they are bringing a large truck for the Rice Meal Pack event, Midwest Mission is also collecting any Home Care Kits (click to review packing list) and Personal Dignity Kits (click to review packing list) that churches may have on hand. Other donations they seek include medical supplies (orthopedic supplies, canes, crutches, walkers), nonpowered tools like shovels and rakes, and electric sewing machines. Download this brochure to learn more and to review drop-off details.

Last Updated on May 15, 2024