Massey; Photo provided.
By Laura M. Jensen
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. | Mike Massey grew up in Miami enjoying his mother’s homemade guava jelly. Years later, he would perfect his own recipe for pepper jelly to support a local ministry.
Jensen
In 2007, he helped his younger daughter make 200 jars of peach jam to be the party favor at her wedding. During the pandemic, Mike began making jam again , but had no outlet for distribution.
In October 2020, he brought two cases of his homemade jam to Lawrenceville Presbyterian Church Pastor, Ryan Jensen, to see if the Lawrenceville Co-Op would be willing to accept his donation. With the blessing of director Tom Balog, jam production went into full swing. This week marks his 10,000th jar of jam for the Co-Op.
With jar 10,000 Mike reached the initial goal he set for himself. When asked why, Massey sees it as “his ministry and purpose.” He can meet a direct need in the community using his gifts and talents.
Mr. Balog remarks: “Mike, the Jam Man, is a dedicated servant working to help the hungriest families in our area!” In 2020 Massey donated over 700 jars toward the Co-Op’s mission to be a Christian organization providing food for people in need in Lawrenceville and Dacula. Since then, he has perfected his methods for mass production, scouring the grocery ads for the best prices on fruit, and has created over 34 flavor combinations. He buys fruit in season and processes it to use year-round, often visiting multiple stores in a week to find the best quality and value. He is also known to clean out the jar aisles of his local big-box retailers for four and eight ounce jars, lids, and rings.
His flavors include various combinations of peaches, pears, mangoes, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. His favorite is “Fruit Medley I,” a blend of peach, strawberry, and blueberry.
Co-Op Assistant Director Ruth Hardy said, “There is nothing like Mike’s jam on our shelves. Our clients request and ask for them every time they return with their empty jam jar.”
Mike has been making jam of various flavors for almost 30 years. A retired industrial engineer and Georgia Tech graduate, he is always looking for ways to improve the process and product. He found that cutting back on the sugar and adding some cornstarch to the mixture thickens the jam without the need for so much sugar. In recent batches, he has also started adding some canola oil to the pot for easier cleanup.
Massey’s daughter, Kristine Hall, gifted him a digital scale to produce uniform weights for fruit.
Every batch has 3 ½ pounds of fresh fruit, which yields 13 jars to donate to the Co-Op. With his precise timing and measuring, each batch comes out delicious, fresh, and ready to donate.
What’s next for Mike “The Jam Man” Massey? More jam! He plans to continue making jam for
his family, friends, and the clients of the Lawrenceville Co-Op. While he does not plan on setting another number goal, he hopes his jam will continue to be his small way to make a big difference.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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