Newton Church of The Way served its first community meal Saturday and the turnout was far from scarce.
The community meal helped feed more than 150 people in Newton, and the leftover food was donated to the Newton Fire Department and other families in need.
Ann White, a member of The Way, said she came up with the idea after she realized her community was in need of food and fellowship. White said when she got her idea approved, she and a few other church members formed a committee to start brainstorming.
“It was a long thinking process,” White said.
The first meal consisted of soup, fruit, turkey and ham sandwiches and various beverages. White said the church congregation donated a lot of the food and a local sandwich business even lent a helping hand.
“The manager at Jimmy John’s donated 200 loaves of bread,” White said. “We cut them into thirds and we are saving the rest for our next meal,” she said.
White said they will continue to pick organizations to donate food to after each community meal.
“We picked the fire department because we wanted show appreciation to those who serve us,” White said.
White said they also received volunteers from Discover Hope to help serve food and to help find families in need, which helped make the first meal a true community effort.
“Whenever we asked, we received,” White said. “It was just wonderful.”
White has been a resident of Jasper County for more than 20 years, and she said that she was attending church in Des Moines before becoming a member of Newton Church of The Way two years ago.
“This is our home and we just felt like we needed to be in our community,” White said. “We found a new church home, and The Way is so active in the community.”
White said she has become aware of the needs in Newton, and she believes they need to be addressed.
White said the committee members put up posters around town at The Salvation Army, at the pregnancy center and community center.
“I think you have to put Jesus’s purpose out there and we have to have fellowship,” White said. “
Jenifer Widner, a leader at Discover Hope, said White came to her when the idea first came about.
“We are friends, and I wanted to support her,” Widner said. “I am a leader at Discover Hope, and I thought it would be a great community service for our volunteers.”
White said the church is working on establishing a date for the next meal.
“We wanted to see how this one went first,” White said. “I’m sure we are going to continue doing this.”
Contact Kayla Langmaid at
641-792-3121 ext. 6513 or
klangmaid@newtondailynews.com