Christ Church Greenwich Packs 72K Meals For Ukrainian Refugees

GREENWICH, CT — The Greenwich community came out in full force last week for a good cause.

Christ Church Greenwich held its second emergency meal packathon April 29. About 200 volunteers, with some even driving in from around the tri-state area, helped pack 35,000 meals for Ukrainian refugees on the border of Poland.

During a two-and-a-half-hour shift, teams of volunteers assembled four complete nutritious ingredients: a carbohydrate, dehydrated vegetables, vitamin powder and a bean protein. Volunteers weighed the packages, sealed them and boxed them for distribution.

To date, Christ Church Greenwich and over 400 volunteers have raised $27,200 to help those in need affected by the crisis in Ukraine, and packed 72,000 meals.

Co-chairs and parishioners Dan Broderick and Melissa Redmond organized the volunteers and training, logistics, packing and food deliveries.

Lisa Tebbe is a parishioner of Christ Church Greenwich, and has been an integral part of the church's Ukrainian relief efforts. Her parents were Ukrainian refugees.

"To know that we’re feeding people and that there are people who really don’t know when their next meal is coming, or from where, we’re going to meet that need," Tebbe said in a news release.

"Everyone’s been so aggrieved by the Russian invasion," added Rev. Marek Zabriskie. "Someone once said, ‘Look for the angels.’ Well, the angels are here."

The shipment from the first packathon is scheduled to arrive in Poland Tuesday. The shipping company, who picked up the container at the docks in New Jersey, has shipped the food to Poland for free.

Residents can donate to help fund Ukrainian relief by going to Christ Church Greenwich's website.

You can also donate to help fund Ukraine relief by going to Christ Church Greenwich's website.