Saturday, Jan. 13—RUTLAND—The Rutland Meals Challenge is seeking volunteers for its annual food packaging event on Saturday, Jan. 13. Volunteers must register in advance to participate. Details are available on the event’s Facebook page: facebook.com/vtmealschallenge.
The Rutland Meals Challenge is a ministry of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in partnership with the greater Rutland community. Hundreds of volunteers gather each year at the church to assemble bulk ingredients into packaged meals that are are donated to area food shelves and the Vermont Food Bank. This year, the project will reach a cumulative total of over 200,000 meals donated since its inception in 2013.
Volunteers are still needed to help assemble the meals. Groups or individuals of all ages and abilities are invited to participate. Each assembly line requires 12 people to package the food. Additionally volunteers who can lift 30-50 pounds are needed to help refill the food bins and carry boxes. Shifts are one-and-a-half hours long, starting at 9:30 a.m. and ending at 3:30 p.m. and include a training video.
In addition to the packaging event, the Rutland Meals Challenge will be running its first fundraiser of the year. Raffle tickets can be purchased on Saturday during the event. The public is invited to stop in and buy a ticket, even if they are not volunteering for the food packaging event. Prizes include a Panera Bread “You Pick Two for a Year” gift certificate, an autographed photo of Boston Red Sox’s Blake Swihart, a basket of flavored coffees from Green Mountain Coffee and more. Tickets are $1 each or $5 for 6. One ticket is good for one chance at the prize of your choice.
The drawing will be held on Sunday, Jan. 14 and all winners will be notified by phone. The money raised will go towards the 2019 food packaging event.
For more information, email vtmealschallenge@gmail.com.
