Fareway and KCCI team up to Support Meals from the Heartland

You can help support local meal packaging events by shopping at Fareway through April 24th!  Watch this video provided by KCCI and Fareway to see how.

Great Local Artists To Perform During 2010 Packaging Event!

What’s better than whistling while you work?  Well, how about whistling along to some great local artists that have donated their time to perform while Meals from the Heartland and thousands of volunteers package to help feed the starving around the world?

All we can say is WE ARE TRULY BLESSED!

Below are the artists, dates and times they will be performing.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 2

Dueling Pianos 5:30-6:30pm
Tony Talbot 7:00-7:30pm
The Estate 7:30-9:00pm

FRIDAY, SEPT. 3

Dave Eickelberg & Band 5:30-6:30pm
Tony Talbot 6:30-7:00pm
Certainty Band 7:00-8:00pm

SATURDAY, SEPT. 4

Ryan Buck & Band 4:00-5:00
Tony Talbot
John Cheatem 5:00-6:00

SUNDAY, SEPT. 5

Buster and the Punks 5:00-6:00pm
Chris Petrick & Band 6:00-7:00pm
John Cheatem 7:00-8:00pm

Maybe you can reserve a packaging time during your favorite?

Help for Haiti – Details Coming Soon

We are in the process of finalizing the details for the February 22 Help for Haiti packaging event, and are overwhelmed and thankful for the outpouring of concern and interest in volunteering. We will soon be opening up registration for volunteers on the Web site. In the meantime, here is what we know:

* The Help for Haiti packaging event will take place during the week of February 22
* During that week we will package as many meals as funds allow
* Packaging will take place at the Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines
* Teams of 8-10 individuals will work in 1-hour shifts to package the meals
* Once completed, meals will be shipped to Haiti as soon as possible for those affected by the earthquakes

PLEASE REMEMBER: We are overjoyed with the overwhelming response of people who would like to volunteer. The number of meals packaged will depend completely on funding we receive until then. If you are interested in donating to Meals from the Heartland, below are some ways you can help:

* Donate here online. Remember, one meal costs just 15 cents, so $50 feeds 333 hungry children
* “Scan Away Hunger” and donate $1, $5 or $10 when you purchase your groceries at any Fareway store
* Attend “Hearts for Haiti” this Friday, February 5, where all proceeds go toward packaging meals for Haiti. You can get more details here.

We will continue to update the blog with information concerning the event as information becomes available to us. We are forever grateful for your interest and commitment to Meals from the Heartland and look forward to your help as we provide Help for Haiti.

Ways You Can Provide “Help for Haiti”

It’s been more than two weeks since devastating earthquakes hit Haiti. From the beginning, people everywhere began donating their time, money and resources to help toward the recovery. However, knowing where we started over a year ago, earthquake recovery is just the beginning. The people of Haiti still need our help today, tomorrow and in the future.

Meals from the Heartland has committed to help feed the poor any way we can, but we need your help. Please consider donating to Meals from the Heartland or another trusted organization. Below are some ways you can help make a difference with Meals from the Heartland.

* On February 5, “Hearts for Haiti,” a Valentine’s Day-themed benefit, will be held to raise money for Haiti earthquake victims. The event’s organizer, Olivia Ahlrichs, will donate all proceeds from the event to Meals from the Heartland. This money will go toward purchasing the supplies for packaging meals for Haiti. The benefit begins at 6 p.m. at the Copper Creek Golf Course Clubhouse, in Pleasant Hill.

“Hearts for Haiti” will feature a silent auction, light hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar, as well as entertainment by Mike Butterworth, lead singer for the Iowa-based band The Nadas, and Bonne Finken, fellow singer/songwriter. Valentine’s Day gifts in the form of chocolate covered strawberries, truffles and children’s tutu’s will be available for purchase and can be delivered to recipients on Valentine’s Day weekend. Tickets for “Hearts for Haiti” will be sold for $15 at the door on a first-come, first-served basis. You can also go here for more information.

* During the week of February 22, we will be partnering with Lutheran Church of Hope to hold a special Haiti food packaging event. While we are still in the process of organizing the event and will soon be asking for volunteers, please remember we can only package as much food as we have funding for, so donate today!

REMEMBER: Nearly $.95 of every $1 donated to Meals from the Heartland is applied directly to our mission. That $.95 is specifically connected to purchasing raw materials, assembling those materials into ready to eat food packages, and delivering those meals directly to those in need.

You can donate toward this cause here. We will package as many meals as we have funding for du

ring the event and all meals will immediately be shipped to Haiti.

Please consider donating your time and/or money to any of the above causes. The people of Haiti need our help now more than ever.

Thank you & God bless!

Making a Difference in Haiti

Thanks to you, Meals from the Heartland is making a difference in the lives of many people currently struggling in Haiti. More than two million meals were shipped to Haiti after our fall packaging event, and they are feeding people every day. I hope that you will take a minute to read the stories in the following posts to see how meals packaged by Iowans are being used to feed starving Haitians.

We are in the process of organizing a special Haiti food packaging event to be held in February. Funds are currently being raised so we can order ingredients and supplies to package and ship as much food as possible. We’ve received overwhelming response from people hoping to package meals – but please remember the amount of meals we can package depends entirely on how much money we raise to purchase ingredients. To put it into perspective: a $50 contribution will provide 300 meals, or enough food for 10 children for one month!

We will soon begin asking volunteers to sign up for packaging planned to start on February 22 at Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines, and possibly other locations. Please continue to monitor our Web site for further details. If you were a team lead last fall, we may not have all of your team members’ email addresses. Please feel free to forward this post on to your teammates who helped package or friends and family to help us spread the word.

God Bless!
The Meals from the Heartland Team