LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Plenty of big games, events, and even tours take place at Kroger Field throughout the year. This weekend, there’s a different kind of tour setting up shop. It’s part of Lifeline Christian Mission’s Million Meals Tour, and preparations are already getting under way for the tour’s stop in Lexington on July 26.
Lifeline has centers across the country, and that includes a building location here in Lexington. Throughout the year, volunteers help pack meals that are distributed locally and internationally.
While those events typically bring in smaller groups, Lifeline is on a national mission to bring its Million Meals Tour to larger locations around the country.
“It began with our Charlotte location wanting to do an event at their local baseball stadium,” said Nathan Zimmerman, Lifeline regional vice president. “We thought, ‘what if we did that in other places where we have a significant presence?’”
“It'll be about an hour, hour and a half of packing meals here on the concourse at Kroger Field, and you'll get to take pictures of the field and have a lot of fun. It's simple. All you have to do is sign up and show up,” Zimmerman noted.
The tour stop at Kroger Field on Saturday will have two shifts available for people of all ages to sign up for. The first shift starts at 9 a.m., and the second starts at 11 a.m.
“It's people of all ages and all abilities coming together,” Zimmerman said. “We'll have three and four year olds here tomorrow and 94 year olds here tomorrow.”
“You can make such a big difference in a short amount of time. Tomorrow in about an hour's time, each person will pack about 150 meals, meaning that 150 people are going to eat because they spend an hour having fun with us.”
While some of the meal packing events aim to provide meals internationally, the Million Meals Tour is focusing on packing a million meals for communities inside the country.
“We're going to pack more than a million meals over the course of all the stops and all of those meals are going to stay right in those communities that pack them,” added Zimmerman. “Here in Lexington, that means that people who are from central Kentucky are packing meals to feed people who live and look a lot like them who are struggling with hunger.”
Of course, it’s going to be hot this weekend, but the event will be set up in the shade of the concourse. There are still plenty of spots available. You can sign up here.
