What a privilege it was to volunteer my time at this year's Mooreland Friends Ham & Bean Tent at the Mooreland Fair. Mooreland is a very small town (population around 370) just outside of New Castle, IN. However, during fair time, thousands of people descend on this little town for tractor pulls, clogging, and many other fun activities. People even come from outside Indiana to experience the excitement and tradition of the Mooreland Fair. One of the big highlights for many fairgoers is to eat ham and beans, fresh homemade cornbread, fresh peach cobbler, and whole hog sausage sandwiches cooked on-site. All of these items are offered at the Mooreland Friends Ham & Bean Tent. All the proceeds from the tent go to local and global charities, and over the years the tent has helped hundreds, if not thousands, of people. A few examples of how the Ham & Bean Tent has helped locally include:
- Provided beds for children who were sleeping on the floor
- Helped replace families' belongings after house fires
- Paid for gas to travel back and forth from Henry County to Indianapolis for medical treatment
- Helped pay utility and grocery bills when jobs were lost
- Assisted with funeral expenses for underprivileged families
The amount of people the Ham & Beans Tent is able to help is even more amazing when you realize how much a bowl costs. A bowl of beans and cornbread costs $3, and it is the most expensive item on the menu! The Ham & Bean Tent operates from open to close every day of the Mooreland Fair. This year, the Ham & Bean Tent raised over $22,000. Now that's a lot of ham and beans!
For Mooreland Friends Church, a congregation of only 40 people, the Ham & Beans Tent at the Mooreland Fair is a great way to give back to our community. Thank you to hc1 Communities for providing community days for great causes such as this!
