St. Joseph couple hopes to make, serve over 1,300 Easter meals. Here's how to request one

Becca Most, St. Cloud Times
·2 min read
Volunteers work to prepare large pots of food for easter meals as part of the non-profit Faith Feeds MN Thursday, April 14, 2022, in the kitchen area of Heritage Hall at the Church of St. Joseph.
Volunteers work to prepare large pots of food for easter meals as part of the non-profit Faith Feeds MN Thursday, April 14, 2022, in the kitchen area of Heritage Hall at the Church of St. Joseph.

ST. JOSEPH — A St. Joseph couple who made about 1,200 ready-to-go Thanksgiving meals for Central Minnesota families has the same goal this Easter.

With the help of their church and other volunteers, Ben and Liz Prigge are already prepping for their ambitious goal. Last month the couple's organization, Faith Feeds MN, became a registered nonprofit.

For Easter this year they're making ham, some turkey, glazed carrots, macaroni and cheese, fresh bread, pink salad and cookies.

The effort will require 40 hams, over 75 pounds of dry macaroni, over 75 pounds of cheese, roughly 280 containers of cottage cheese, 160 boxes of Jell-O and 360 containers of Cool Whip.

As of Thursday morning they are serving 1,348 meals so far.

Looking back: St. Joseph couple makes and distributes over 1,000 meals for Thanksgiving

Volunteers work to prepare items for hundreds of easter meals Thursday, April 14, 2022, in the kitchen area of Heritage Hall at the Church of St. Joseph.
Volunteers work to prepare items for hundreds of easter meals Thursday, April 14, 2022, in the kitchen area of Heritage Hall at the Church of St. Joseph.

In 2020 Ben said his family was hosting a Bible study out of their house on Thanksgiving when he started thinking about how much extra food they had and what he could do to give back.

Knowing not everyone has the time or means to cook a big meal, the Prigges served 80 people out of their home for the first time that year. Last Easter they put together Easter baskets and served holiday meals to just under 600 people, and want to double the number of meals this time around.

"We were hoping to get close to 1,500," Ben said. "But honestly, I make the numbers so large just because I want whoever hears it and whoever wants a meal to not feel like they'd be taking away from someone else requesting."

Volunteers work as part of a Faith Feeds MN effort to provide hundreds of Easter meals to local residents Thursday, April 14, 2022, in the kitchen area of Heritage Hall at the Church of St. Joseph.
Volunteers work as part of a Faith Feeds MN effort to provide hundreds of Easter meals to local residents Thursday, April 14, 2022, in the kitchen area of Heritage Hall at the Church of St. Joseph.

How to request an Easter meal

Go to Faith Feeds MN on Facebook to request a meal, or send an email to FaithFeedsMN@gmail.com. You can pick up the food Saturday morning in St. Joseph or at Solid Rock Church in the afternoon. Delivery is also an option.

Volunteers will prepare the meals at the St. Joseph Catholic Church on Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to noon. After taking a break for Good Friday Mass, Ben said they'll continue prepping food in the afternoon.

This year the couple is planning to coordinate deliveries to families who live near the Cities too, after partnering with the organization Adopt A Family.

Liz and Ben Prigge stand next to some of the food and supplies they will use to prepare and distribute to area families in need for Thanksgiving Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021 at their home in St. Joseph.
Liz and Ben Prigge stand next to some of the food and supplies they will use to prepare and distribute to area families in need for Thanksgiving Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021 at their home in St. Joseph.

In the future Ben said they want to expand their reach to include other small communities in Minnesota that don't get as much financial assistance.

"[We'll] just go wherever God tells us to go with this," he said.

More: St. Cloud man feeds homeless, helps at-risk youth with nonprofit Youth Following Our Lead

Becca Most is a cities reporter with the St. Cloud Times. Reach her at 320-241-8213 or bmost@stcloudtimes.com. Follow her on Twitter at @becca_most.

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This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: St. Joseph couple plans 1,300 Easter meals to serve in Central MN