By: Audrey (and Ella) Smith
We heard that RAK Louisville was working with the Forgotten Louisville to help feed the homeless community. Every Wednesday, they need 50 sack meals, and they ask for two people or groups to sign up to each take 25 sack meals. We decided that our family would sponsor this, and my sister and I did some chores to earn money to buy the items. We were glad to be able to give our time to help feed the hungry.
If you are thinking about signing up, it might seem like an overwhelming task, but it’s simple when you break it down or divide it among your friends. We have our plans written below if you have questions. We also took some pictures, but we were so busy making sandwiches and building the sacks that we forgot to take pictures during the process.
Planning
Before we planned, my mom called Maria with Forgotten Louisville to see where we would drop off the meals and if they were looking for anything specific this week. Maria told her they really need extra water in the hot months, so we decided to take two cases.
The team planned to take the sack meals out to hungry people who didn’t make it to the drop off location.
Shopping
We talked about what would be good to include in the sacks. We knew we shouldn’t use anything that would melt or go bad in the heat. And our Mom had us do math to figure out how many of each item we would need to buy. We could have gone to Costco or Sam’s, but Kroger had everything we needed, including small bags of chips and treats.
We shopped the day before we made the sack meals. We picked bananas that were mostly yellow, so they would be ready to eat the next day. We also got white bread for the sandwiches, because it is comforting for many of these people.
Forgotten Louisville street team planned to take the sack meals out to hungry people who didn’t make it to the drop off location.
Our shopping list
- White bread: 3 loaves (we bought 4, but only needed 3)
- Peanut butter: 1 40-oz jar
- Grape jelly: 2 17-oz jars
- Sandwich bags: 25 (we already had these)
- Bananas: 25
- Bags of Lays chips: 25 (five 6-packs)
- Bags of mini Oreos: 25 (two 20-packs)
- Applesauce cups: 25 (five 6-packs)
- Spoons: 25
- *Brown bags, large 8#: 25
(*We used the larger style of brown bags, so we could fit more items and the bag would be sturdy.) - Napkins: 25 (we had these)
- Water: 2 cases (we delivered in cases, not in the sacks)
Making the sandwiches
My mom and I made the sandwiches. Mom thought it was easier to make two or three sandwiches at a time, but I thought it was easier to make one sandwich at a time. Some other tips:
- Be careful not to squeeze too hard, so you don’t make finger dents.
- Have 25 sandwich bags opened and ready to go. We stacked in groups of five, alternately, so it was easy to count to 25.
- Try to keep each sandwich clean (no PB or J on the sides of the crust), so that it is clean to put in each bag.
- Keep a wet paper towel nearby, so you can wipe the PB&J off of your fingers in between sandwiches.
Assembling the sacks
- Open all the cases and boxes.
- Carefully break each banana off the bunch, so you don’t accidentally peel them.
- Figure out the best way to build your sacks, and organize everything in that order.
- Double check each bag to make sure all of the items are in there.
- If you write anything on the bag (like PB&J), make sure it is low enough to be read after you fold the top of the bag.
- Have a big box or several bags to transport the meals. Three meals fit in each plastic Kroger bag, which made it easier for my sister and I to carry than a big box.
Dropping off the meals
We packed the car with the two cases of water, 25 sack meals and a bag with extra sandwiches of leftover ingredients. We went with our parents to drop off in front of the UofL rowing club. There were a lot of people already waiting for hot food. The Forgotten Louisville street team planned to take the sack meals out to hungry people who didn’t make it to the drop off location.
