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Volunteers come together to pack 14,000 meals to share
The community may be preparing for Halloween on Tuesday, but as costumes are put away and the candy is eaten, many will quickly embrace preparing for Thanksgiving–a time for thinking of the bounty of food on the table, not the lack of it.
On a recent Saturday in October, though, members of the Rotary Club of San Marcos welcomed dozens of volunteers, who like themselves, are concerned about those who cannot envision any largess of food, let alone the basics.
At 9 a.m. on Oct. 14, at the First Lutheran Church in San Marcos, they came, ready to don red-colored hair nets and clear plastic gloves before facing a wall of boxes containing bags of rice, soy and other food items.
Table after table was filled with volunteers ready to spoon specific amounts of food into bags that would be sealed, weighed and placed in boxes to be sent around the world.
Watching as the volunteers arrived and took their places at their stations was Richard Dang, spokesperson for the organization Rise Against Hunger, who said this is the third year they have partnered with the Rotary club in San Marcos.
“This morning is important, because we will pack over 14,000 meals and that is approximately enough to feed 14,000 people,” Dang said. Periodically throughout the morning, Dang rang a gong announcing to the volunteers that they had reached certain milestones on their way to packing thousands of meals.
Rotary President Peter Baen welcomed the volunteers who included club members, area high school students from San Marcos Academy, Greater Texas Federal Credit Union staff, as well as college students who are members of the Rotary from Texas State University and student members of the Texas State Leadership Council.
He said, “This is a big deal that you’re involved in. … Last year, our efforts went to Haiti. This year, our efforts are going, who knows where. Because they will all be loaded on a container for distribution from the port of Houston and so, it is something to where we will all find out about that and celebrate.”
Dang thanked the members of the Rotary for their contribution to fighting world hunger.
“We are here to pack meals and send them to those in need. What we do is more important than just putting ingredients into the bag. We are giving them [those who receive the meals] hope and opportunity for a better future,” Dang said.
