Fairfield to host Take Away Hunger food packing Sunday

FAIRFIELD — The Word of Life Lutheran Church in Fairfield will host another edition of its Take Away Hunger food packing on Sunday, Sept. 18.

The church is located half a mile west of Highway 1 on Libertyville Road on the south side of town. The event will last from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Volunteers are invited to stay as long as they wish.

The church has set a goal of packing 12,000 black bean and rice casserole meals, which will be distributed into disaster areas within the United States, and in other countries where there is a need. The event is part of the Take Away Hunger Mission founded by Don and Sandee Fields of Brighton.

Fairfield’s Take Away Hunger initiative, involving seven churches, has packaged more than 488,000 meals. Local churches participating are First Baptist Church, First Christian Church, Friends Church, First Presbyterian Church, Word of Life Lutheran Church, and First Methodist Church of Fairfield.

Don and Sandee Fields began this program under the name Kids Against Hunger in 2003, packing from their warehouse in Brighton.

In 2016, Don and Sandee rebranded their company under the name Take Away Hunger.

Their mission remained the same: “Feed the hungry and show the love of Jesus.”

In their first year of operation, they packaged 250,000 meals. Their desire to help others spread to centers throughout the state and now number 17, of which 13 Don and Sandee oversee and supply.

In 2010, those wing units were responsible for producing 4 million meals which are being used in four nations and also here in Iowa.

In 2010, Kids Against Hunger moved from their Brighton location to the new office warehouse location at 1301 West Saunders Ave. in Mt. Pleasant, where they are continuing to grow and expand. Their goal is to establish 50 wing units in the state of Iowa to help fight global hunger.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com