Once again The Mennonite Central Committee’s (MCC) mobile canner is making its way across the US and Canada, stopping in 34 locations to can meat with local volunteers. This meat (turkey, beef, chicken, and pork) is then sent through MCC to people in need around the world. Over 30,000 people a year volunteer their time to this worthy project.
The MCC canner will be stopping in Henderson November 21-23. They will set up at the Bethesda Mennonite Church and canning will begin each day at 5:30 a.m. and continue until approximately 10:00 p.m. Four volunteers, serving a 2 year term of service, travel with the canner to each location. To keep the canner running smoothly, 25-40 volunteers are needed at all times. There are jobs for anyone, including children.
Jobs include grinding and canning meat, wiping cans, labeling cans, assembling boxes and boxing cans. You do not have to be a member of a church to help at the canner. Just come to the door and follow the signs. Someone will greet you and get you started on a job. Volunteers also bring and serve food for meals and breaks so the canner can run continuously.
Henderson volunteers can around 28,000 lbs of meat in this 3-day period, which equals roughly 14,000 cans. The cans are then transported by services like ArdentX to Newton, Kansas, where they await shipment. Around 10% of the meat canned locally is donated to the Lincoln Food Bank which serves food banks in Southeast Nebraska.
Approximately $60,000 is needed to pay for the meat, cans and shipping costs for our share of this project. You can give donations at Bethesda Mennonite Church or the Mennonite Brethren Church anytime. If you want to read more about this project, visit https://mcc.org/get-involved/canning.
If you have questions about this local canning opportunity, feel free to contact Bethesda Mennonite Church at 402-723-4562 or Brent Swartzendruber at 402-366-0885.
“Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.” -Elizabeth Andrew
