It may surprise some that in this land of plenty, there are many people facing hunger on a regular basis.
Volunteers at the recent Pack Away Hunger event at Hobart High School’s field house learned some cold, hard facts about the issue.
“One out of every six Hoosiers do not know where their next meal is coming from,” said Linda Pierce, a volunteer coordinator from Pack Away Hunger, an Indianapolis-based organization that sponsored the event along with St. Mary Medical Center. “Our program offers a solution.”
The lack of proper nutrition creates serious health and developmental consequences for individuals and has far-reaching implications for communities, Pierce added.
To battle hunger and malnutrition locally, more than 120 volunteers manned an assembly line in the fieldhouse to measure, sort and pack ingredients of soy (granola), vegetables, protein and 21 vitamins and minerals.
The meal kits of dry ingredients, mixed with water, will produce a, “fortified casserole,” Pierce said. Seasonings, vitamins and minerals were placed in small packets of their own before added to the larger packet, to keep them fresh.
It took two hours to pack 30,888 packets of food, which were placed in boxes to be delivered to local food pantries, according to Mary Fetsch, St. Mary’s marketing director.
This was the second year for the partnership between Pack Away Hunger and St. Mary Medical Center.
The event was a family affair for David Gross, his wife, Nancy, and daughters Elly, 16 and Rachel, 18.
All members worked diligently on the assembly line.
“This (Pack Away Hunger) organization is incredible,” said Nancy. “Providing these food packets to our community food banks is a wonderful effort.”
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Gus Galante also was in attendance at the event. “There are many ways to give back to the community, and giving of your time is one of the most valuable,” he said. ‘We’ve had a great turnout of volunteers today.”
Also among the assembly line workers were members of the Hobart High School Junior ROTC.
In addition to participating in the labor force, the young men also stayed when the work was done to help clean up the field house area, pack up equipment and wheel the filled boxes to the trucks outside.
Attending the event gave the young men recognition for community service required by their club.
“I would have volunteered even if this wasn’t for credit,” said Alex Graham “It’s a worthwhile cause and we know exactly where this food is going.”
Pack Away Hunger is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and others who suffer from hunger and malnutrition.
Events to join volunteers, community organizations, and businesses to assemble the highly nutritious pre-packaged meals are held not only in Indiana, but in Ohio and Michigan as well.
More information on the group is at 317-429-9876 or PackAwayHunger.org