Midwest Food Bank produces and distributes a rice & beans meal called Tender Mercies. They are fortified with protein, vitamins & minerals. We at Midwest Food Bank are excited about Tender Mercies for many reasons:
• The nutritional value – Each serving includes 13 grams of protein, 6 grams of fiber and 1 gram of fat.
• Ease of preparation – It is as simple as boiling in water for 20 min.
• The taste – Much effort went into finding the right seasoning mix to deliver a delicious meal.
And we don't want to settle for our own excitement. We asked our partner agencies for feedback on Tender Mercies.
Community Hope Center in Cottage Hills, Illinois serves 45 – 70 families each day. They use the Tender Mercies meal packets to support the local schools. Ann Crane, Operations Manager says, "We use Tender Mercies to make sure kids have a meal at home on the weekend." Ann continued to say how helpful it is to have a complete meal with Tender Mercies. "If someone comes in after pantry hours we can give them a Tender Mercies packets and that's a meal until they can come back."
St. John's Breadline in Springfield, IL also uses the Tender Mercies product from Midwest Food Bank. "We go through 40 gallons of soup a day. We are using Tender Mercies in our soup twice a week." said Shawna Harris, the Director at St. John's. They also use Tender Mercies in their meatloaf and chili. Later this year they are having a "Souper Tuesday" event and will serve chili, vegetable beef and chicken noodle soup. "Tender Mercies could work in any of those soups," Shawna said.