Tri-State Conference Members packed 30,000 nutritious meals to finish off the Annual Conference the Rotary Way - with a service project! On May 5, 2024 District 7910 combined with District 7890 to sponsor a Meal Packing event to benefit the Worcester County Food Bank and area Food Pantries. A Fortified Bean and Rice Casserole was the chosen meal, and Meals of Hope Founder and CEO Steve Popper attended our event to help celebrate the 100 Millionth Meal packed by the organization.Photo: 30,000 meals boxed and ready for pickup
Meals of Hope, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2007 by Steve Popper to help end hunger and food insecurity. Popper's first meal-packing event was actually a Rotary service project, to help get food to a school in Haiti where the kids could not learn because they did not have enough to eat. Originally intended as a one-time event, Popper and his wife were so impacted by the intensity of the community spirit and comraderie from that first event, they committed that night to a goal of packing 1 million meals in a year. They ultimately surpassed that goal and in 2009 incorporated as a nonprofit.Elliott Rittenberg, District Governor 7910, was happy with the turnout. "We made announcements during meals throughout the weekend, because we really wanted to finish with a great experience for conference members". Many volunteers mentioned that they were happy to have a service project as part of the agenda, in addition to the many great speakers, sessions, and area attractions. "It just feels right for a Rotary event" chimed in one of the meal packers.
Meals of Hope has offered all clubs in District 7910 and 7890 that wish to sponsor a meal packing event special pricing, which extends the impact of your grant dollars! Events with the Bedford/Concord and Westford Rotary Clubs, combined with the Tri-State Conference, accounted for 100,000 meals donated to Eastern MA foodbanks, just in time for the summer school break!Photo: Meals of Hope and Rotary commemorate the 100 Millionth Meal