Mercy Ada Caregivers, Family and Friends Pack 40,000 Meals for Food-Insecure Neighbors

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Mercy Ada Caregivers, Family and Friends Pack 40,000 Meals for Food-Insecure Neighbors

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Michael Kimball

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ADA, Okla. — About 40,000 healthy and shelf-stable meal kits are on the way to local neighbors who need them, just as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) uncertainty affects families around Southern Oklahoma.

Dozens of volunteers in hair nets stand around tables to make assembly lines for a food donation drive in a church school gym.

Mercy caregivers packed 40,000 meal kits in three hours as part of a group volunteer event. The kits will go to food-insecure residents of the Ada area.

Mercy Hospital Ada caregivers, First Methodist Church members and their family and friends gathered in a group of about 100 to pack the kits Tuesday at the church. Mercy donated the food as part of a “Feed the Funnel” party that included music and dancing while volunteers helped people who are food insecure.

“Not only are the holidays approaching, but this has been an uncertain time for so many of our neighbors who don’t always know where their next meal is coming from,” said Kaycee Young, Mercy executive director of mission. “It was a lovely and joyful experience to get together with fellow caregivers and our friends and family to try to address these basic needs for the people we serve.”

The 40,000 healthy, shelf-stable meal kits are based on beans and rice with flavor packs. All that’s needed is boiling water and a little bit of butter or margarine for a quick, filling and nutritious home-cooked meal.

The kits will be distributed to food-insecure people from Ada, Holdenville, Milburn, Tishomingo and the surrounding area. Distribution sites include Abba’s Tables, Asbury United Methodist Church, Big Five Community Services, Covenant Church, INCA Community Services, Mercy Hospital Ada, Mercy Hospital Tishomingo, Our Neighbors Cupboard, Pontotoc County Health Department and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.

“Feed the Funnel” parties are organized by The Pack Shack, an Arkansas-based nonprofit. Volunteer groups donate money to buy beans, rice and other ingredients in bulk, then a group of at least five people pack the meals together.

High-energy pop anthems pulsed from the speakers during Mercy’s event in Ada, with hairnet-clad volunteers dancing to the beat while they filled the kits and packed them up.

Visit thepackshack.org for details on hosting a “Feed the Funnel” party. Learn more about Mercy Hospital Ada services at its webpage on mercy.net or by calling 580-332-2323.

Mercy, one of the 15 largest U.S. health systems and named the top large system in the U.S. for excellent patient experience by NRC Health, serves millions annually with nationally recognized care and one of the nation’s largest and highest performing Accountable Care Organizations in quality and cost. Mercy is a highly integrated, multi-state health care system including 55 acute care and specialty (heart, children’s, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, convenient and urgent care locations, imaging centers and pharmacies. Mercy has over 1,000 physician practice locations and outpatient facilities, more than 5,000 physicians and advanced practitioners and more than 50,000 caregivers serving patients and families across Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy also has clinics, outpatient services and outreach ministries in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. In fiscal year 2025 alone, Mercy provided more than half a billion dollars of free care and other community benefits, including traditional charity care and unreimbursed Medicaid.