Anyone who has been around churches for long can tell stories of beautiful receptions and overflowing potlucks, but few churches have made 10,000 meals in one day. St. Augustine of Canterbury, Vero Beach, did just that, and the church accomplished this feat in under two hours.

Partnering with Rise Against Hunger, a nonprofit whose goal is to end global food insecurity, St. Augustine held an outreach event with 78 parishioners and friends on Saturday, April 30, to prepare the meals using the RAH method. The organization has designed simple, assembly-line events equipping groups to make thousands of meals in two hours. Although RAH’s mission is global, its current focus is on preparing meals for Ukraine.

The Rev. Wes Shields, St. Augustine’s rector, says the church has long been a generous congregation through financial outreach, and his goal is to expand those efforts with a new focus on action-oriented events. “My hope is that our people, along with others from the community, can come together on a regular basis and give of our time and talent to serve others,” he said. “This not only helps those we are serving, but it becomes a source of fellowship and shared purpose within our congregation as well.”

With that vision in mind, Barbara McGowan, a new member of the church, suggested partnering with RAH after participating in their events at a previous church. “Father Wes’ intention was to do a hands-on outreach project, and the parish really responded,” McGowan said. “Our goal was to have 40 people, and we had 78, so there was a fellowship component as well.”

Tucker Shields, 9, rings the gong held by his dad, The Rev. Wes Shields, to mark another thousand meals packed.

Participants ranged in age from 7 to 93. “All the kids who came could work autonomously, and they worked hard all morning with everyone else,” said Laura Shields, whose three children participated. When they left the event, her 9-year-old son, Tucker, said, “That was a lot of work, but it was fun!”

“I think the event opened some eyes to the fact that no matter what age or stage we are in, we can make a difference,” The Rev. Wes said. “I had multiple people offer to sponsor another event financially, which is no small offer.”

The $3500 event cost was covered by the church outreach budget. RAH supplies everything churches need to host their own event, including marketing materials, food and packaging. The nonprofit also offers fundraising ideas for churches who do not have the full cost available in their budgets. Most importantly, RAH provides relief to millions of hungry people around the world.

“They may look like simple bags of rice and soy, but Rise Against Hunger meals represent the hopes and dreams of people worldwide,” according to the RAH website. “Our volunteers are the heart of our mission to end hunger and we could not send millions of meals around the globe each year without them.”

The church is planning to partner with RAH again in the coming months, and after seeing Facebook posts from St. Augustine’s members, several non-churchgoers have already expressed an interest in participating in the next event. “It’s great to feel the momentum grow,” McGowan said.

“Outreach is vital to any parish, and it can be an important factor in what the church is about,” The Rev. Wes explained. “That shift from being about us inside the walls to those outside the walls is a difficult transition, but that mentality affects how we view evangelism. While evangelism requires us to speak about Jesus, outreach can open the ears of many to hear.”