By Matthew Purucker · News Editor
Over 200 volunteers prepared and packed ingredients for about 70,000 meals in the Physical Learning Center on Saturday to donate to people in need in Mercer and Allegheny County.
Grove City College students, faculty and staff members, along with some Grove City residents, participated in the service project, supporting thousands of families across the region. The effort was the largest community service event in the history of the college, and it was the first time Grove City College attempted a service initiative of this scale, according to Thomas Biro, the college’s campus discipleship and community engagement director.
Per a Grove City College news release, Meals of Hope, a national nonprofit meal-packing organization, donated ingredients for a fortified bean and rice casserole. Volunteers then put those ingredients together for Amen to Action, a meal-packing and distribution organization under the Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation, to give to hunger-afflicted communities.
With low-income individuals having limited access to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits because of the government shutdown, the event occurred at what Biro said was a “providential time, given the circumstances.”
SNAP assists almost 2 million Pennsylvanians, including 19,280 in Mercer County and 160,449 in Allegheny County (between 11% and 20% of their respective populations) as of September 2025, per the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s website.
Grove City College alumni, the Community Foundation of Western PA & Eastern Ohio, Flynn’s Tire & Auto Service and local members of the community donated funds to help buy the ingredients.
“As a Christ-centered institution, we are called to love our neighbor, and the work is valuable because of that calling,” Biro said in the release. “We hope that volunteers gain a greater understanding of the needs of our neighbors off campus, and that our service will continue beyond this event as we look to increase Grove City College’s community engagement.”
