The Hospital Meal Packet Program is a home-grown social action project that has been providing food to people in need since 2010. UUCCville provides meal packets through the Social Work office at the University of Virginia Medical Center. In 2025, we provided 900 meal packets that were distributed to people who had loved ones in the hospital.

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throughout the month of March

The meal packets we produce are designed to provide healthy, non-perishable food to people who would otherwise not be able to feed themselves. We strive to provide enough food to feed one person for one day in each meal packet. The meal packets include the food and everything needed for preparation without refrigeration; they are a portable breakfast, lunch and dinner in a one-gallon plastic bag. Equally important in each packet, we include a note of loving kindness from UUCCville.

Meal packets are especially helpful for NICU families when they are overwhelmed by their circumstances and need sustenance. The meal packets provide a comforting hug of mobile sustenance during families’ emotionally taxing moments.

A recent story from the UVA hospital was from a dad, mom and young son who were spending time on the 3rd floor. The father was admitted for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) treatment. His young son loved the Slim Jims in the meal packets so much that he began doing a Slim Jim dance each time he received a meal packet. The meal packets definitely raised the family’s spirits during a stressful time.

Assembling meal packets at UUCCville has become an RE tradition. We coordinate the assembly of meal packets with the RE classes as a way for the children to participate in a hands-on activity that does good for the community around us. It is a great way for our RE youth to engage directly with ‘Love in Action.’

With careful planning and spending, the meal packet program operates at a cost of $5 to $6 per meal packet and is funded through the annual social action collection. Thank you very much for considering a donation to support this program. Your generosity helps us provide food to people in need that are caring for loved ones in our community.

If you have questions or suggestions, please contact Rev. Leia or Terry Epp.