Jan. 1—MONTGOMERY — The Mennonite Central Committee meat canning will start tomorrow and continue through Thursday at the Dinky’s.

“This is an annual thing. The mobile meat cannery is based in Pennsylvania. They start out west in Missouri or Iowa and they stop at different communities and work their way east through the winter months. It is a large mobile cannery and everything is USDA approved,” said organizer Kris Wagler. “As a community, we gather donations and buy the meat and we can this and send it out to Pennsylvania and from there they distribute this to other countries.”

The meat canning project began around the time of the Depression. Over the years it has grown and changed. In the past, local organizations would slaughter and process their own meat. Now, it is purchased in bulk from poultry operations in Pennsylvania, but the finishing work is still done locally.

“Now, we purchase the poultry from a producer. We do the processing and the canning,” said Wagler. “The meat shows up in deboned and in quarters, then we weigh it out and put the spices in and then they run it through the canner.”

While folks from the Daviess County area will participate each day in the activity, residents from some of the smaller Amish and Mennonite enclaves will be coming in to participate as well.

“This is something everyone wants to help with. Daviess County is a lot bigger community. To make it worth it, the MCC sets up in the bigger communities,” said Wagler. “They don’t want Salem, Worthington and Flat Rock to be left out, so they get included in with us. Each community will send 10 to 15 people to assist for a day.”

Money for the event comes from the not-for-profit MCC Relief Project, Incorporated. People can make donations to the fund at both the Odon and Montgomery branches of First Savings Bank. Proceeds from those funds wind up doing a lot of things for people locally and all over the world.

“The last few years we have been receiving more funds that we could use on food. We figure out how much money we have left over from the meat cannery and then buy relief kits. The items come in-bulk.

“There are about 15 things in those buckets. We pack them so that they can shipped to Pennsylvania and then on to other countries where they are needed. That is done by the local school children, so that is a way they can help out,” said Wagler. “The donations also go toward our mission work in the United States.

“We have sent a few groups down to Florida to help out following the hurricanes. It isn’t just about the food it is also about some other things.”

One of those other things is helping feed those in need locally.

“I know it goes to several different countries, places where there are wars being fought. The MCC sends it where it is needed. We don’t control where it goes,” said Wagler. “We also keep back a certain percentage of the meat and we share that with different charities so the local community is benefiting from that as well.”

Besides, the food from the cannery, there is also food brought in daily for those who are working on the project.

“There is a process the cans have to go through, so we cannot work constantly,” he said. “We do one batch and then we have to wait. There is a break time that we use to visit. The local Amish and Mennonite churches bring in baked goods, snacks, fruit and vegetables. That way there are plenty of refreshments. In the last few years, we have had so much that we had way more food than we knew what to do with. We wound up taking those left-overs and donating it to local organizations.”

Wagler says he is just the latest in a long line of people who have embraced this charitable project that is a physical extension of the beliefs of the Amish and Mennonite community.

“It is a way we can help out and give back. Jesus said in the Bible, feed my sheep. I suppose this is a form of that. It seems like it’s the community as a whole, with their donations to help with this,” said Wagler. “There are a lot of different places where you can donate your money and get involved.

“This is a place where you can donate and see where your help is going.”