Chicago volunteers pack 500,000 meals for day of service on 9/11
By Lauren Victory, Jackie Kostek, Adam Harrington
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CHICAGO (WBBM) — Volunteers gathered Thursday to pack 500,000 meals for the Greater Chicago Food Depository, in the spirit of unity in which Americans everywhere engaged after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
A total of 1,800 volunteers turned out at Union Station beginning at 9 a.m. for the event.
“It means everything,” said Camerin Mattson, communications director for the Greater Chicago Food Depository. “I mean, those of us who have memories of 9/11 and remember what a shocking and horrifying day it was — how inspiring is it that there’s going to be 1,800 volunteers here today making a difference and turning this into a day that is something that’s positive, that’s giving back?”
Mattson emphasized that food insecurity is a serious problem right now — affecting one in five U.S. households, and one in four with children.
“We’re not OK with that. We can do better,” Mattson said. “And so it’s a big problem, and it’s going to take all of us working together, and today goes a long way in helping make a difference.”
Jacob Jenkins, volunteer program manager for Serve Illinois, worked well ahead of time on recruiting support staff for the event.
“We’re really excited. We’re pumped up, fired up, and ready to go,” Jenkins said ahead of the event Thursday. “We’re ready to remember the good, and in doing that, we carry out the express wishes of the families who put this whole thing together.”
Ahead of the meal packing, a total of 29,000 pounds of oatmeal alone were delivered to Union Station on pallets — along with 10,000 pounds of sugar, about 1,500 pounds of dehydrated apples, and another 1,500 pounds of cinnamon fortified with 21 vitamins and minerals.
The apple cinnamon oatmeal ingredients arrived at the train depot on forklifts in the middle of the night.
Each visitor will receive a bag with six meals. Volunteers will pack 83,000 bags.
Similar meal pack events are held across the country for 9/11 Day, which was created shortly after the 2001 attacks. Cofounders David Paine and Jay Winuk wanted something good to come out of the horrific losses in the attack — which took the life of Kay’s younger brother, Glenn, an attorney and firefighter who was killed at the World Trade Center.
The website for 9/11 Day notes that Sept. 11 has become the largest day of service in America, with more than 30 million people participating around the country.
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