Sheldon, Iowa — RiseFest, the Christian festival sponsored by Rise Ministries in Sheldon, is sponsoring a Grocery Drive to help stock the shelves for the 3rd Annual Kids Summer Lunch Program in Sheldon.
The Grocery Drive is taking place from 1:00 to 6:00 pm today (Friday, May 13th), and 8:00 am to 1:00 pm tomorrow (Saturday, May 14th) at both the Sheldon Hy-Vee and Fareway grocery stores.
Summer Lunch Program Director Tricia Meendering says Grocery Wish Lists will be available at the stores during the Grocery Drive, but monetary donations will also be accepted. She says that monetary donations will be used to purchase fresh produce and meat for the program as the summer progresses.
The Sheldon Summer Lunch Program is held Monday through Friday, during the summer months, at the Sheldon United Methodist Church, but Meendering says it’s open to any child from the Sheldon community.
She says the program is designed to provide a healthy meal to kids who might not otherwise get one, but it’s also more than that.
Meendering stressed that, while the Summer Lunch Program and the Sheldon Community Schools Backpack Program reach many of the same children, they are two different entities, and that donations to the Backpack Program do NOT go to the Summer Lunch Program.
