Some 300 volunteers at the Perry Lutheran Home started their assembly-line packaging at 9 a.m. Wednesday, and by the time the Meals from the Heartland program ended at 4 p.m., more than 30,000 meals were packaged.
Mike Frandsen, a Meals from the Heartland coordinator from the group’s West Des Moines warehouse, said about 10 percent of the nonprofit organization’s packaged meals feed undernourished people right here in central Iowa. The rest go to countries such as Haiti, Ghana and South Africa, Frandsen said.
Dr. Randy McCaulley, the event’s lead organizer, said this year’s goals were met both in terms of meals produced and dollars raised to pay for them.
“We are very grateful for the support the community has shown this project,” McCaulley said. The third year of the event saw further growth in meals, up from 22,000 in 2016.
Volunteers from many Perry-area civic and religious groups participated in the production process along with private individuals and a number of residents of the Perry Lutheran Home.
Among the community donors supporting the event were the Christ Lutheran Church, Fareway, Great Western Bank, Hy-Vee, Perry Kiwanis Club, Perry Lions Club, Perry Optimist Club, Raccoon Valley Bank, Perry Rotary Club, Son Foundation, Thrivent and Van Wall. Employees of the Perry Lutheran Home also raised $1,100 among themselves.
Frandsen said the Meals from the Heartland warehouse packages meals five days a week, and he also coordinates anywhere from two to six remote events at locations such as Perry. He thanked the Perry volunteers, who were drawn from businesses, schools, churches and community organizations around town.
