Souderton, Pennsylvania, church volunteers bag weekend meals for children facing hunger

Zion Mennonite Church in Souderton, Pennsylvania, runs a “Table of Plenty” program that offers free lunches inside the church. According to WPVI, the program has been around for decades, and for volunteers, the sweetest sound is neighbors sharing a meal.

Donna Halteman described the meals served at the church. “It’s lasagna and roast beef, and ham and potatoes. It’s really a very nice job that they do,” she said.

The report said the food that leaves the building is also changing lives in the community. Halteman, founder of “The Bean Bag Program,” encouraged people to look beyond their usual surroundings. “We live in a bubble. We go to the same store and the same restaurant and we drive down the same roads. Maybe we attend the same church week after week, but what if you drive one block farther?” she said.

Halteman said the program provides weekend meals to children who experience hunger when they are not in school.

The program began in 2016, when the church learned that some children at an elementary school a few blocks away were going hungry on weekends. The church started by feeding 20 children. The report said the number is now close to 200 across multiple school districts, a response to hungry neighbors that reflects charity and hospitality (Matthew 25:35).

According to the report, the program is community driven. Food is either collected or bought with donations, and volunteers bag and distribute the bags. Halteman said the goal is to help children “focus in school.”

Halteman also spoke about the people who give to the effort. “They support each other. They support their neighbors. They care about their neighbors and they have big hearts. They’re willing to share of the extra they have,” she said.

Source: Read the original report