Prairie Trail Students Package Close to 14,000 Meals for Local Non-Profit

From an Ankeny school district media release:

On Friday, May 3, Hunger Fight Manager Joel O’Dell from Meals from the Heartland led Prairie Trail Elementary students, staff, and more than thirty parent and community volunteers, in a three-hour event packaging nutritious meals. More than 13,760 meals were packaged to be delivered to people in need all over the world.

In early April, first and fourth grade students at Prairie Trail had the opportunity to put into action the good citizenship they have been learning in their literacy classes.  Students chose to help fight hunger by packaging meals for delivery to starving people around the world through the non-profit organization, Meals from the Heartland.

Before Meals from the Heartland could provide a Mobile Hunger Fight event at Prairie Trail, students needed to raise at least $900 to purchase the food to be packaged.  Over a two-week period, students, staff and parents rose to the challenge in a big way, as nearly $3,500 were donated to purchase food, far exceeding the minimum requirement.  Because of the generosity of so many at Prairie Trail, all students in first- through fifth-grade were needed to participate in the event and package the donated food.

Before students packaged meals, they watched a video that aired on KCCI about where the meals go and how they benefit people in other countries.  The story helped students understand why they were packaging meals and to where and who the meals might be going.

This was an amazing opportunity for Prairie Trail students to learn about being good citizens and giving back.  

Meals from the Heartland is a non-profit, 501(c) 3 organization composed of volunteers who package meals for delivery to starving people around the world as well as right here in Central Iowa and elsewhere in the United States. Individuals, businesses, schools, churches and various civic organizations have come together to show the nation and the world what people who truly care can accomplish.