Multi-church meal packing party Held by Native Ministries

During the recent government shutdown on a Sunday, the Oklahoma Conference Native Ministries (NM) department brought together more than 100 people from local churches to pack meals.  The event was vital because even though “More than 50% of those who access food pantries are fully employed,” according to the Regional Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, there are food deserts all over Oklahoma, and the temporary suspension of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) meant that the food banks were undersupplied. This is why Native Ministries Director Jim Landelius reached out to area pastors to invite their congregations to a fast-paced, fun-filled, morning packing food boxes to fulfill their community’s needs for extra food.

When Brad Simmons, Bible teacher at Ozark Adventist Academy, heard about the opportunity to serve, he gathered a volunteer group of high school students and along with Tulsa Adventist Academy and local public high school students, the First Tulsa church fellowship hall was filled to the brim with young and older folks. Lively Christian music kept the atmosphere humming and after donning hairnets and gloves, everyone shared in either the distribution line or at tables where “packed by (Adventist church)” labels were carefully placed on the food pouches. Each “church” took home a percentage of the boxes they filled so that the food can be distributed in their own communities.

Altogether, approximately 26,000 meals were packed in under three hours.

The seeds for this event were planted in 2024 when Cindy Mercer, Prayer and Women’s Ministries director for the Oklahoma Conference, hosted a meal packing party with the nonprofit organization Meals of Hope. One of those attendees, Deborah Warden, NM assistant director, suggested to Pastor Landelius that connecting with the director of Meals of Hope could be fruitful in helping hungry families. Working with local nonprofits is a mutually beneficial way for Native Ministries to create friendships and serve folks in Oklahoma’s many rural communities.

The short hours packing meals together also served as a mini-reunion among church friends from across northeastern Oklahoma and among many students who have attended various churches and schools together over the years. Pastor Landelius says, “Finances permitting, Native Ministries hopes to hold a meal packing event in 2026 and pack between 50-100,000 meals.”

Written by Caroline A. Fisher, M.A.