Pella Middle School Students Pack Thousands of Meals

Annual volunteer event has provided over 230,000 meals since 2017.

Apr. 11, 2026 at 2:55pm

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A bold, colorful silkscreen-style illustration featuring a repeating grid of stacked meal trays or food containers in vibrant neon shades, conceptually representing the large-scale meal-packing efforts of Pella Middle School students.Pella Middle School's annual volunteer meal-packing event has grown into a community tradition, providing over 230,000 meals to those in need.Pella Today

Students at Pella Middle School in Iowa came together on Friday to package nearly 23,000 meals for those in need as part of an annual volunteer tradition that has been running for over a decade. The event, organized by the school's Student Council, has grown from packaging just a few thousand meals in its first year in 2017 to providing over 230,000 meals in total since then.

Why it matters

The Pella Middle School meal-packing event is an example of how schools can engage students in meaningful community service projects that make a tangible impact. By partnering with organizations like Meals from the Heartland, the school is instilling values of empathy and civic responsibility in its students while also directly supporting families facing food insecurity.

The details

All seventh and eighth grade students at Pella Middle School participated in the meal-packing event on Friday. The students worked together to assemble nutritious meal kits containing rice, soy, vegetables, and vitamins. The school's Student Council applied for a grant from the Pella Community Foundation to fund the initiative, which has grown significantly since it was first started by a student named Hannah Nedder in 2017.

  • The meal-packing event has been an annual tradition at Pella Middle School for over a decade.
  • The event was held on Friday, April 11, 2026.
  • The tradition first started in 2017 with a student named Hannah Nedder.

The players

Pella Middle School

A public middle school located in Pella, Iowa that has organized an annual meal-packing volunteer event for its students since 2017.

Meals from the Heartland

A non-profit organization that partners with schools and community groups to package and distribute nutritious meal kits to those in need.

Hannah Nedder

A former student at Pella Middle School who started the school's annual meal-packing tradition in 2017.

Pella Community Foundation

A local community foundation that provided a grant to fund Pella Middle School's meal-packing initiative.

Pella Middle School Student Council

The student government organization at Pella Middle School that applied for the grant and organized the annual meal-packing event.

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What they’re saying

“It's amazing to see how this event has grown over the years and the impact it's had on our community.”

— Hannah Nedder, Former Pella Middle School Student

What’s next

The Pella Middle School Student Council plans to continue organizing the annual meal-packing event, with a goal of reaching 250,000 total meals provided since the tradition began.

The takeaway

Pella Middle School's long-running meal-packing initiative demonstrates how schools can empower students to make a meaningful difference in their local community through volunteer service projects. By partnering with non-profit organizations, the school has instilled values of empathy and civic responsibility in its students while also directly supporting families facing food insecurity.