“I have done other projects in the past where I have reached out to my community on Facebook as well as my family and friends. Anytime I find a need, I will ask if anyone wants to volunteer or help. With SNAP benefits being withheld, I thought, there’s going to be an even greater need for people to eat. So, I came up with ‘Meals in a Bag,’ and it’s simple shelf-stable meals with instructions that could feed a family of four,” Fields Jones said.
She has continued to see increased support from her family, friends and Facebook community. Jones started reaching out to people on Oct. 30.
“It’s amazing. It amazes me every single time. Community members want to help. Most people have goodness in their hearts, and they want to help,” Fields Jones said. “It humbles me when I reach out, how many people are willing. I tell them, I will do it all. I will shop, I will pack them, and I will find places to donate to. Even if you have $5 or $10 to give, it helps.”
“Meals in a Bag” are five- to six-ingredient meals, with directions. Each meal costs about $7 to make. She makes 16 meals at a time: four meals of each recipe. So far, she’s dropped off 32 meals. Each week, Jones creates new recipes.
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
“I’ve always tried to help when I see a need. I raised my kids as a single parent, and there were times throughout that journey that I needed help. So, it just sparked something inside of me to help if I see a need, and when I can,” she said.
In the past, Jones has spearheaded a coat drive and made toiletry bags for the homeless and those less fortunate.
“The way things are currently, people have been struggling, and food is one of the biggest struggles, and then, with the SNAP benefits being withheld, or cut off, or whatever is going to happen with that, it just immediately got to me,” she said. “The people who are already struggling are really going to be hungry, and I can’t imagine being hungry. Truly, that was my first thought when I started this.”
Personal experience fuels her compassion
“Luckily, I always had food. I have a big family. So, I never had to worry about starving, but there are people out there who don’t have family. They don’t have back-up,” Jones said. “When I was raising my kids as a single parent, I specifically remember one time that I was helped, and it dramatically affected the trajectory of my year. And I will never forget it, and I’m humbled by it to this day. I know that one small act can really change someone’s life.”
At the time, she had one child in elementary school, one in preschool and a baby. The preschool provided Christmas gifts for her children that year and it changed their lives.
“Obviously, I wanted to be Santa for my kids, but there was just no way. There was no way I was going to be able to make it happen. I didn’t tell anyone. No one knew that struggle. I kept it to myself. And the preschool had a secret program they did, where the staff got together and talked about helping a family for Christmas and they would pick a family and go over why they wanted to help and the need. That year, they chose me and I will never forget that phone call…Just someone recognizing that I needed some help, changed my life, and that is what inspires me to help when I see a need.”
New Life Mission provides meals for individuals and families and offers the Meals in a Bag to people they serve, and they can take home whatever they need at no cost.
“It comes from the heart,” said Jones. “I’ve also had a couple people reach out privately, who need food, so I’ve given a couple people a few meals each. I’ve raised over $600. Roughly, I estimate that I can provide 85 meals, or 100 meals with my donation included.”
Jones is a native of Hamilton, and she currently lives on the west side with her family. Her goal is to provide 100 meals.
“I found this idea on Pinterest, and I thought, wow, I can do this,” she said. “I just wanted to make sure families could have some easy, complete meals, and if it took one hard decision off of them in their week, that’s all I needed to know,” Fields Jones said. “It’s paying kindness forward and helping where I can. It’s not my job. I have a full-time office job. This is just a passion project, and because I have developed such trust with my community, I can do it very successfully.”
The ingredients
The cost of 16 “Meals in a Bag” is $106. Meals include chicken and dumplings, chili, taco soup and minestrone soup. For $106, four families will be provided with four meals.
“The four meals I did this week were taco soup, all-bean chili, chicken and dumplings and minestrone soup. It’s all shelf stable. If people just have a hot plate, they can heat stuff on, or in a microwave, they can still make these meals. I know from working with the homeless community in the past, sometimes, people don’t always have everything they need to make a meal. So, with these ideas, people can normally do it,” Jones said.
For example, the taco soup has a can of no-bean chili, a can of Pinto beans, a can of Black beans, a can of corn, a can of diced tomatoes, a pack of taco seasoning and a packet of Velveeta cheese sauce.
Jones said she first connected with New Life Mission about a decade ago because she was looking for a local place to volunteer.
HOW TO HELP
To connect with Brandy Fields Jones, or to donate, email fieldsbd1979@gmail.com.
“I plan to continue doing this … I want to get these meals out,“ she said. ”Then, I have a couple other ideas of places that I can donate meals to. The need is there, and I know that no matter how big this gets, or if it just stays like this, I will be able to feed people off of these donations and that is really all that matters to me.”
NEW LIFE MISSION
In 2023, New Life Mission on Henry Street in Hamilton (missionhamilton.org) served 40,776 hot meals, and 6,031 individuals were supplied groceries from the food pantry. Dozens received addiction treatment and were connected to mental health services and case workers, housing and Job & Family Services.
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