The Mirror Newspapers Reflecting Life Along The Maumee River
BY KRISTI FISH | MIRROR REPORTER — Fifty families received a full Thanksgiving meal this year from the First Pres of Maumee congregation.
Through a partnership with Mosaic Ministries, the church packed bags full of foods needed to prepare a Thanksgiving dinner. Each bag included canned vegetables, boxed potato dishes, stuffing mix, canned cranberry sauce, cornbread mix, gravy mix, flour, sugar, vegetable oil and more.
The families also received a turkey along with the bags full of food, said John Sluhan of First Pres, who helped coordinate the donations. Each recipient family was selected by Mosaic Ministries.
Mosaic Ministries is located in South Toledo and provides meals, education, prayer and counseling to those in need, Sluhan explained.
“Through Mosaic, they have Baby University, so they help mothers with newborns learn how to be parents and then the majority of them qualify for government benefits as well,” Sluhan said. “Whether or not they qualify, it’s mostly single moms and they’re put on the list to be handed a basket of food.”
Members of the church provided monetary donations, which were then used to pick up many of the supplies for the meal from Meijer, Sluhan said.
“These families are definitely in need, especially now with gas and food prices,” Sluhan said. “There are an awful lot of people having to make choices right now that we’re fortunate to not have to make.”
The meal bags were packed after the weekly Wednesday night church dinner on November 16. The dinner was provided by YWish, Young Women of Inner Strength, a mentoring group run by Cindy Blake and Karen Burket.
“They’re the real stars of the night,” Sluhan said. “They learn life skills as an afterschool program, and they prepared our whole dinner.”
