Palm Beach Atlantic University Pack 50,000 Meals In 2 Hours

Palm Beach Atlantic University Pack 50,000 Meals In 2 Hours

Courtesy of CBS News 12

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — Dozens of Palm Beach Atlantic University students and staff spent their Tuesday evening packing meals for hope.

Their goal was to pack 50,000 meals in two hours for people in need in Palm Beach County.

The university is partnering with, “Meals for Hope,” a non-profit with food pantries servicing Palm Beach County.

Members of the organization say the need for food assistance has grown since the pandemic.

“The need at our food pantries and at all food pantries has done nothing but explode this year. We realize during COVID-19 people were struggling, but the reality is that there are more people that are needing to go get food assistance today than ever before,” said CEO Stephen Popper.

The volunteers consisted of students and staff from Palm Beach Atlantic’s Titus Center for Franchising.

“We are being kind to each other, which would include helping to feed people who are hungry here in Palm Beach County, may not seem like it’s possible, but people are hungry,” said Dr. John Hayes.

The packaged meals will be delivered to a food pantry in Belle Glade.

Learn More about Meals of Hope

Ready to make a difference in your community? To learn more about Meals of Hope, read more here. To get you or your organization involved in our next meal packing event, fill out our form here. We can’t wait to hear from you!

Assembly Line

Assembly Line

Courtesy of Cumberland Times-News

Alison Crabtree, left and Ireland McGann, fifth graders at Calvary Christian Academy, measure macaroni to be packaged into meals Wednesday for the sixth annual Calvary Cares project, which helps tackle food insecurity in the region. Students, staff and volunteers worked from stations set up in assembly-line fashion — bagging, measuring, adding soy and noodles, weighing, sealing and packing — to prepare 20,000 meals as part of the project, a partnership with Florida-based Meals of Hope. The meals were delivered to organizations throughout the area.

Learn More about Meals of Hope

Ready to make a difference in your community? To learn more about Meals of Hope, read more here. To get you or your organization involved in our next meal packing event, fill out our form here. We can’t wait to hear from you!

4,500+ Volunteers to Pack 1.5 Million Meals for 9/11 Day Of Service

4,500+ Volunteers to Pack 1.5 Million Meals for 9/11 Day Of Service

Courtesy of LongIsland.com

On September 11, 2023, more than 4,500 New Yorkers will spend the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy supporting the community, by packing 1.5 million healthy, non-perishable meals aboard the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.  The meals will be donated by the event’s organizer, the nonprofit 9/11 Day, that day to City Harvest and Food Bank For New York City to support individuals and families at risk of hunger across the New York City area.

According to Feeding America, one in four Americans experience food insecurity every day.  

Now in its 7th year, the New York City Meal Pack for 9/11 Day, which will be staged over the course of two days, on Monday, September 11, and Tuesday, September 12, has grown to become the largest volunteer service project held in America in observance of the 9/11 anniversary.

More than 120 companies from the NYC – NJ -CT area plan to send employee volunteers to the event, including major sponsors JPMorgan Chase, Citi, KPMG, Mizuho, FactSet, Fox Corporation, Major League Baseball, Intercontinental Exchange, Pfizer, Flagstar Bank, and Merrill Lynch. Helping 9/11 Day co-host this year’s NYC event are the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, City Harvest, Food Bank For New York City, NYC Service and New York Cares.

Nationally, the 9/11 Day Meal Pack program is being supported by AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism, Citi, United Airlines, JPMorgan Chase, Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co., and KPMG.

20,000 Meal Pack Volunteers Will Pack More Than Six Million Meals Nationwide

Nationwide, the NYC Meal Pack for 9/11 Day is one of 18 large-scale volunteer service projects that 9/11 Day is staging this September, with support from the AmeriCorps, which oversees the nation’s federal volunteer service programs.  Across the nation, more than 20,000 volunteers, representing about 400 U.S. companies, prominent nonprofits, professional sports leagues, faith-based groups, military veterans and others, will join together in unity and in observance of 9/11 and Hunger Action Month, to pack a record 6.5 million meals for food insecure Americans.

All of the meals will be donated to local food banks, many of them affiliated with Feeding America.  9/11 Day is sourcing the food ingredients for the meals and receiving logistical support from meal packing partners US Hunger, Meals of Hope, Kids Around The World and The Pack Shack.

9/11 Day and AmeriCorps will be helping to support 9/11-related meal packing volunteer events for the first time on 11 college campuses, including at University of Alabama Birmingham, Illinois State University, Monroe College, Prairie View A&M University, Ross State University, University of New England, Boise State University, Harding University, Morgan State University, The Ohio State University, and University of North Georgia.

The nonprofit 9/11 Day was founded six months after the September 11, 2001, attacks by friends David Paine and Jay Winuk, who have dedicated their lives to transforming the anniversary of 9/11 into a nationwide day of doing good, in tribute to those lost and injured, and in honor of the many who bravely rose in service in response to the 9/11 tragedy.  Winuk lost his brother Glenn J. Winuk on 9/11. Glenn was an attorney and volunteer firefighter/EMT who was killed in the line of duty in the collapse of the World Trade Center South Tower.

9/11 Day Now America’s Largest Day of Service

In 2009, 9/11 Day successfully secured passage of legislation in the U.S. Congress, and a Presidential Proclamation, that officially established September 11th as an annually-observed National Day of Service and Remembrance under federal law, and which is now the nation’s largest annual day of charitable engagement. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday is the only other federally designated Day of Service. Today, more than 30 million Americans participate in 9/11 Day annually by volunteering, making donations, and doing other “good deeds,” which many Americans now share through social media messages posted on September 11, using the hashtag #IWillFor911Day.

“The 9/11 Day observance is a powerful reminder of the extraordinary sense of unity we experienced after the attacks, and is an important, uplifting and appropriate way for millions of Americans to pay tribute through kindness and acts of service,” said Winuk.

“In the hours, days and weeks immediately following the 9/11 attacks, Americans were able to see that whatever differences we think we have pale in comparison to what we all share as human beings – our innate kindness, compassion and concern for the well-being of others,” Paine added. “9/11 Day is about rekindling that spirit of compassion, and bringing it forward in our lives as a reminder of who we really are as people.”

“Our lives have been shaped by how we, as a country, came together to respond in the wake of 9/11,” said Michael D. Smith, CEO, AmeriCorps, which provides opportunities for Americans of all backgrounds to serve their country, address the nation’s most pressing challenges, and improve lives and communities.  “Through a spirit of unity and an enduring commitment to our most cherished values, the 9/11 Day of Service provides Americans an opportunity to reflect, remember and take action, knowing we’re unstoppable when we stand together.”

More About 9/11 Day

The 9/11 Day observance was founded in 2002, inspired by the spirit of unity, service and shared humanity that arose in the United States and spread around the world following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.  Today, the September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance – also known as 9/11 Day – stands as a permanent tribute to those lost, injured, and sickened, and those who rose in service in response to the tragedy.  As the single largest day of service in the U.S., 9/11 Day reminds us that coming together in a spirit of kindness, no matter our differences, has the power to change lives and ultimately, our world.  For more information, please contact info@911day.org.

Learn More about Meals of Hope

Ready to make a difference in your community? To learn more about Meals of Hope, read more here. To get you or your organization involved in our next meal packing event, fill out our form here. We can’t wait to hear from you!

FFA members package 50,184 meals during Living to Serve Day

FFA members package 50,184 meals during Living to Serve Day

Courtesy of High Plains Journal
May 1, 2023

The blue corduroy jacket is a familiar symbol of the FFA organization, worn as part of official dress during most FFA activities. Recently at the South Dakota FFA convention in Brookings, as part of a SD FFA Living to Serve Day, members removed their jackets and rolled up their sleeves to help stop hunger in South Dakota.

This service project, supported by funds from Pioneer-Corteva, Rick and Sandy Osterday, and a grant from the National FFA Foundation exemplified the portion of the FFA motto which states “Living to Serve” by teaming up with industry to fund a Meals of Hope, hands on project that combats hunger. SD FFA members and Pioneer-Corteva staff measured, poured, sealed, and boxed 50,184 meals in assembly line fashion throughout the day-long event. Members stopped in between workshops and competitive events throughout convention and left the event knowing that by giving a few minutes of their time they would make a significant difference in the life of a person less fortunate than themselves.

“The FFA organization believes strongly in the fourth line of the FFA Motto “Living to Serve”, which is why we are very excited to receive funds from both Pioneer-Corteva as well as day of event manpower assistance and interaction from their staff,” says Sandy Osterday, presiden of the South Dakota FFA Foundation.

The SD FFA Foundation is proud to support Agricultural Education and the FFA’s mission to make a difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. For more information about the South Dakota FFA Foundation and South Dakota’s FFA programs, visit www.sdffafoundation.org or follow us on Facebook.

Students Pack 25,000 Meals for Charity

Students Pack 25,000 Meals for Charity

Courtesy of McDonald County Press
May 4, 2023

Students from McDonald County High School and the McDonald County FFA chapter, on April 27, partnered with the national organization, “Meals of Hope,” to pack 25,000 meals for people in need in the local area.

According to the organization’s website, Meals of Hope is a “nonprofit organization that is committed to bringing people together to fight the hunger epidemic.”

Meals of Hope is the only meal-packing organization prioritizing keeping food packed within the United States.

Emily Hutton teaches agriculture at MCHS and is the McDonald County FFA Advisor. She said these packages will go to local food pantries throughout McDonald County — Anderson, Noel, Pineville, and some local churches and other organizations.

“It’s going to be chicken and rice vegetable soup that we’re packaging. Each bag has six servings in it. So the kids are actually going to measure all the ingredients. We have to weigh it, seal them, put on our stickers and box them. Then distribute them to the community,” said Hutton.

According to Hutton, Meals of Hope sent all the supplies, and the students prepped and packaged the ingredients.

Students had five options to choose from. The project’s senior officers picked the dish they thought would be the most versatile and easiest to prepare. They settled on “chicken and rice soup” because it is the easiest to prepare.

Maggie Pratt is the McDonald County FFA chapter president. She has aspirations to study the field of poultry science after high school.

“This project was something we had heard about,” said Pratt. “So we did our research and kind of looked into it. And we thought, ‘Well, we really want to do this.'”

Braxton Bishop is the vice president of the FFA chapter. After graduation, he’ll attend the University of Columbia for animal science and plans to pursue a veterinary degree to treat large animals such as bovine and equestrian animals. Together with Pratt, they share ideas and collaborate on various projects.

“Anything she has a question on, we think about it together,” said Bishop. “She did all the paperwork for it, and I did the heavy labor.”

The students formed assembly lines along rows of tables with measuring spoons, weighing scales, funnels, and package labeling. There were 10-gallon buckets containing various blends of spices, rice, and dry vegetables. They placed them at the beginning of the tables, and students wore PPE and systematically passed the packets over to the following students. They were racing against the clock, and within four hours, 150 students packed 25,000 meals of chicken and rice soup. That is roughly 104 packages per minute.

This was an experience these students will never forget.

“We have never done this before,” said Hutton. “We hope that this tradition will continue for years to come.”

Learn More about Meals of Hope

Ready to make a difference in your community? To learn more about Meals of Hope, read more here. To get you or your organization involved in our next meal packing event, fill out our form here. We can’t wait to hear from you!