ROCKLAND — West Bay Rotarians were told that if they aim for 75 volunteers for their Meal Packing Day, to expect less people to show up. Prior to the event, the charitable organization received 100 RSVPs. The day of the event, Saturday, Oct. 26, 121 volunteers walked through the door. 

In fact, the Rotarians initially set up four long assembly tables to be used by eight assembly teams. Organizers just happened to bring another table just in case. That table immediately became another station. 

Meals of Hope started in Naples, Florida, in 2007 by Rotarians. As of last week, nationwide, they’ve packed 60 million meals, according to Deborah Fink, of West Bay Rotary. 

West Bay dedicated the morning to packing 25,000 meals, divided into two meal types most popular with food pantry clients: macaroni and cheese, and noodles with tomato sauce. 

Each bag holds six meals that were loaded into shipping boxes. Each box holds 32 meals. The Salvation Army took 20 boxes, Camden Area Food Pantry took two boxes, AIO took 60, and Warren Food Pantry took 52 boxes. Those taken to Warren and AIO will be distributed to other food pantries.

“One of the things that I think is really, really important when it goes to the food pantry. The meals are nutritious; they are fortified. A lot of times, the stuff they get – people are taking stuff there that may not be the most nutritious and so it’s real easy to put instructions on the box.”

Active in the morning’s event were people from West Bay Rotary, Camden Rotary, Rockland Rotary, “and then, a lot of these people, I’ve never met before,” said Fink. 

Those included the Midcoast Interact Club as well as families, individuals, and members of the Naples Rotary who develop meal distribution events.

At five long tables, volunteers created two assembly lines. Noodles were decanted from bigger Meals of Hope containers. Volunteers weighed individual portions in order to dispense exact amounts. Those noodles were then put into plastic bags and sealed. Each assembly team used a grid to indicate each 32 sets.

When each box of 32 became full, the team raised a cheer. 

Though Rotarians scheduled two hours for the event, the day’s cheering sounded through Rockland Elks Club’s multi-use room in less than 70 minutes following the 9 a.m. start time. 

“Assuming it goes well, we’re hoping to continue to do this.”

See our previous article: West Bay Rotary to host inaugural meal packing event

Reach Sarah Thompson at news@penbaypilot.com