Beans and seasoning filled CUE 316 as student and community volunteers gathered to make soup bags, which will be delivered to those who don’t have enough to eat.

Homestead Ministries, a non-denominational ministry founded by Tom Riedner and Greg Nolan, joined ‘Cougs Give Thanx’ to help feed less fortunate people in Palouse.

Riedner was inspired to start Homestead after seeing a starving young girl dressed in dirty rags. Since then his mission has been to get students involved in helping girls like the one he had seen.

“If we can help even one of those kids, then why not?” Riedner said.

Riedner’s wife, Doreen Riedner, works beside him to organize and facilitate this event.

“It’s Tom’s passion,” she said. “The more people he has helping, the closer he is to accomplishing his goal.”

Students, faculty and community members came together to help with the Center for Civic Engagement run event.

Ingredients for lentil, split pea, and seasoned bean soups are lined up in assembly to be poured into bags and be sealed.

Almost all the ingredients are locally grown coming from pea and lentil processors and local farmers.

The soup bags are “very nutritional, cheap and stable,” Riedner said.

According to Riedner, one-third of the population is below the poverty line, so there is a great need for food.

“What we want to do is bring poverty right next door,” Riedner said.

Their goal is to package 600 bags of soup, each of which is made to feed six people.  300 of the bags will go to WSU, and the other 300 will go to the University of Idaho to be distributed.

The bags would cost around fifty to eighty cents each, but they will be given for free to anyone who needs them.

Daniela Miranda, graduate assistant at the International Center, helped in planning and organizing Cougs Give Thanx. Her goal was to get more international students involved with the event, as it coincides with the international philanthropy project. Her efforts were rewarded, as several international students came to “give thanx.”

“We wanted more international students to get involved with volunteering this year,” Miranda said. “I’m excited to see that they are excited to help as well.”

According to Riender, Homestead Ministries has been rather successful so far and people really seem to like getting involved. They have produced and distributed over 70,000 meals since their start in August.