- November 15, 2024
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Vice president of Old King's Early Yacht club Skyelynn Garren with Early Yacht club President Brooklynne Tietje. The girls teamed up to run the full packages of rice to the scales. Photos by Anastasia Pagello
Program Warehouse Manager Jason Haulbrook of Stop Hunger Now in Orlando.
Each package is created by four team members who pour the produce into the bags using a funnel.
Amy Glenn meticulously measures out each package and adds or subtracts rice as needed.
Lindsay Tietje and Hannah Frassrand laugh together as they fill food packages.
Matanzas High School senior and club member of Interact, Bianca Robinson, adds rice to a meal package.
Christi Garren is in charge of adding one generous scoop of soy product to each meal package.
“You will be uplifted and touched when you experience how two hours and 10,000 meals can change lives.” - Rotary Club of Flagler Beach President Kim Carney
This year alone the Stop Hunger Now program will deliver 65 million meals to those in need in 71 different countries. The first year the program started, in 1998 in Raleigh, North Carolina, only 1.7 million meals were distributed.
“The Stop Hunger Now program is a stepping stone for communities to create sustainability,” Jason Haulbrook said, from Stop Hunger Now in Orlando. “Rather than a handout the program offers a hand-up, so we can continue on to the next community who needs our help.”
The Rotary Clubs of Flagler Beach, Flagler County and Palm Coast along with the Interact Clubs of Matanzas and Flagler Palm Coast High Schools hosted the meal packaging event at the Flagler Beach United Methodist Church Sunday, Nov. 15. Over thirty volunteers worked hard together to produce boxes full of nutritional meals.
“You will be uplifted and touched when you experience how two hours and 10,000 meals can change lives,” Rotary Club of Flagler Beach President Kim Carney said.
The volunteers had a conveyer belt process to efficiently produce the meals in a short amount of time. Four people took turns filling a bag, next a runner brought trays of bags to the scales. This volunteer ensured each package contained 389-394 grams of produce. Finally the package is heat sealed and boxed up to be shipped to a community in need.
“Many of the meals created here today will be sent to children around the same age as those in this room,” Haulbrook said. “Our packages are sent to schools and hospitals all over the world.”
In 2014 the meals packaged by the Flagler Beach United Methodist Church was sent to aid Haiti. The Rotary Clubs in Flagler County received feedback from one second grade student from Cite Soleil School. ““I love Stop Hunger Now rice a lot; I can’t have enough of this rice,” Jean Kendy said. “When my parents send me to school without anything to eat, they don’t worry because they know I will eat at school. I pray every day for the people who send the rice.”
