Throughout the world, 345 million people are faced with food insecurity. An upcoming opportunity set to take place in Freeman on November 6 and 7 will involve volunteers in taking action to address the need for food. The results will have both a local and global impact through interactions with Mennonite Central Committee’s mobile meat canner.
Mennonite Central Committee is an organization that works in collaboration with churches and communities in the United States, Canada and around the world to provide for immediate needs in response to disasters, war and other challenging circumstances. For more than 100 years, MCC has come to the aid of many as a way to share God’s love through compassion and service.
Every year, MCC’s mobile meat canner travels to communities in the United States to enlist volunteers in the process of preparing canned meat. More than 30,000 individuals volunteer with the mobile meat canner annually to cook, fill, weigh, wash and label cans of meat. The canned meat is then provided to partner agencies throughout the world, with one-tenth of the meat canned in Freeman remaining in the community and donated to the Bethany Food Pantry.
Volunteers in Freeman will be canning turkey this year. Local organizers invite individuals of all ages and denominations to participate in the event that has taken place nearly annually in the Freeman/Marion area for decades. Shifts for specific roles are available from 6 AM to 5 PM on Monday, November 6 and from 6 AM to 4 PM on Tuesday, November 7 at C & B Operations, 615 N. US Hwy. 81. A sign-up form is available at bit.ly/3SiKdht.
Last year, MCC shipped 574,560 pounds of canned meat to Cuba, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Malawi, South Sudan, Ukraine, Zambia and the U.S., including Puerto Rico. In refugee camps in Ethiopia, for example, a lack of sufficient food sources left many young children malnourished. In response, MCC’s canned turkey and chicken was provided to address the nutrition needs of 6,000 children under 2 years of age. To find out more about the mobile canner and processes involved, visit mcc.org/events/canning.