The assembly line started slow before the students found their rhythm and meal after meal was created. Scoops of rice and beans and a seasoning packet filled each bag, which will become a meal for someone in need in Warren County.

Through a partnership with Families First, students at St. Al created 5,000 easy to prepare rice and beans meals Wednesday that will be distributed next week to Haven House, United Way, Mountain of Faith Ministries and River City Rescue Mission.

St. Al junior Madalyn Burke organized the event. Everything needed to create the meals from the rice and beans down to the bags and devices to seal them came from The Outreach Program, which is based in Iowa and has five different meals that can be created to help those in need.

“The school sent me to a camp this summer and we did this project in Chicago,” Burke said. “We did 50,000 meals that distributed into the school system. I came home during the summer and I asked Dr.  (Buddy) Strickland and Families First if we can do this at St. Al and put it into our community and they said yes.”

The meals are created to have a shelf life of two years and provide a wholesome meal to a family with little preparation required. Burke said they chose the fortified rice and beans option from The Outreach Program because it was the most diverse and could feed someone lunch or dinner.

“They send us everything, the rice and beans, the equipment and all the instruction,” Burke said. “All they have to do is add water and boil it. Everything is in there and it lasts for two years. Even if some of these organizations don’t have the demand right now, in two years they may have it.”

The ingredients for the meal were purchased from The Outreach Program by Families First using a grant that St. Al was awarded to assist the school in performing service projects and having a positive impact on the community.

“It is amazing and I am so proud of Madalyn Burke for doing this. She has really gotten all the kids together and gotten the energy flowing,” said Kara Doiron, community outreach coordinator for St. Al. “I really cannot tell you how excited I am because it was an early dismissal day and their sports start at 3 p.m. They volunteered their time before their sports to come do this.”

The students were assisted by representatives from the organization that will be receiving the food including Michele Connelly and Kami May from United Way and Ernie Hall from River City Rescue Mission.