The Meal Packets project is an incredible tradition at UUCville, begun some years ago as a way to provide loving and practical support to folks who are staying in Charlottesville due to loved ones who are patients at UVA Medical Center. These folks may be staying in one of the low cost family housing units run by the Medical Center or staying elsewhere. Wherever they are staying, they are on very limited budgets. Sometimes they can afford to pay for the room they are in, but do not have money leftover for food. The Social Work Department at the hospital identifies these people and attempts to find ways to help. One very special way is UUCville’s meal packets.

This year, Terry Epp assumed leadership of this project from original founders and leaders Margaret and Michael Gorman.

Terry says, “We integrate the Meal Packet assembly into the RE classes as a way for the children to participate in a hands-on activity that does good for the world at large.  Love in Action.”

The grade school age RE classes are usually the ones who help assemble meal packets.  Grades 1-5 are most common.  The nursery kids and staff may also be included, so older and younger kids are helping as well.  Over the summer with the Sunday Fun RE class there were between 5 and 10 kids helping each time as well as 5 or 6 adults.

The goal is to provide healthy, non-perishable food with a note of loving kindness from UUCville tucked into each packet. The plan is to provide enough food to feed one person for one day in each meal packet.

This year 100 meal packets at a time will be assembled about every 6 weeks. Terry delivers them to the UVA hospital on that same schedule.  Between 800-900 meals packets will be assembled, delivered and given out this year.  Meal packet costs range between $5 and $7 per packet.  The costs are covered by the Social Action collection that occurs one month per year.

Love in Action, indeed!