Volunteers pack more than 100,000 meals for hungry kids

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Imagine packing 100,000 meals in an hour. Hundreds of volunteers made it happen Thursday in an effort to make sure children in need in New Hanover County have healthy meals.

“Now, we have to show up today, just sweat it out, wear these beautiful hairnets and set a record by packing 100,000 meals in an hour,” Steve McCrossan, NourishNC executive director, said.

It’s a rush for hundreds and thousands of kids.

More than 500 employees with Live Oak Bank worked together to pack 100,000 lunches in just one hour at the Wilmington Convention Center thanks to NourishNC and the organization Pack Shack.

For every 10,000 meals packed they rang a gong. McCrossan says it’s exciting to see so many people wanting to help.

“It’s great when you can have fun, dance, sing along, but also feed hungry children right here, where you know Live Oak is headquartered, and where we all live work and play,” McCrossan said. “It’s cool that we can have fun, but hunger and food insecurity aren’t a joke and we’re happy that they’re packing 100,000 meals today. And that gong means another 10,000 meals”

Many of the workers enjoyed their time as well. KrisiAnn Jackson was happy she could help so many kids in the area.

“We can make one meal make a difference for a little kid and his family then I feel like we’ve done a huge feet,” Jackson said.

She think this should happen more often.

“I would love to do this all the time,” Jackson said. “I think all of us would because it does make such a difference. I was just thinking about that, how an impact of one hour can make on a community. We would always be willing to offer up an hour of our time to do this.”

They broke their target and made 106,500 meals! McCrossan says the food packed from this event will help feed kids all year long.