GREENFIELD — More than 100 teens were up to their elbows in mac and cheese Monday night in the Greenfield-Central High School cafeteria, where volunteers packaged meals to be distributed to local food pantries.
Roughly 110 students and 35 family members packed 20,000 meals in about an hour.
The school’s cheerleading coach, Christy Carey, organized the event, which is part of the Million Meal Movement.
Founded in 2007 in Indianapolis, the movement began as a means to feed hungry Hoosiers while giving young people a fun and easy way to learn the power of volunteerism.
“We founded the organization because we wanted to be able to offer a volunteer experience to children that their parents would enjoy just as much,” said co-founder Nancy Hintz, as quoted at MillionMealMovement.org.
Since its founding, the program has served nearly 5.7 million families throughout the state.
Carey thought the volunteer effort was a great way to bring students together for a common goal.
“At first, I asked my team if they’d be interested in doing it and they said yes, but I figured why stop there, so we invited the basketball team, swimming team, wrestling team, and it kind of just exploded,” she said.
In the end, all of the high school’s athletic teams were invited to join in the hour-long work session, although all students and even their family members were welcome to attend.
Silas Frye, 18, a wrestler and senior class secretary, thought it was a great way to work together as a team for the greater good of the community.
“I think it’s important to be a part of the community, showing up and helping out and being part of something bigger than yourself,” said Silas, who also volunteers through the Interact club, which partners with the Rotary Club of Greenfield.
On Monday, he joined fellow volunteers donning colorful hair nets while rationing out portions of uncooked macaroni and cheese.
They worked in teams in assembly line fashion — racing to see who could get their boxes filled the fastest — to a backdrop of upbeat music blasting throughout the cafeteria.
Some students funneled the macaroni noodles into a bag and others scooped in the cheese powder while others weighed the bags to keep them consistent. Another set sealed and stamped each package with the date before packing them into boxes to be delivered to local pantries.
Once a box was fully packed, a cowbell was rung in celebration , prompting the volunteers to erupt in cheers.
“We’re in first place, by the way,” one mom gleefully said.
Sarah Lynch joined her daughter Brooklyn, a cheerleader, and several other family members in volunteering Monday night. The competitive feel and upbeat tunes made the time fly by, she said.
“We’ve packed meals as a family before at our church, so we thought this would be a great opportunity to do so again,” said Lynch, who was joined by her parents, husband and three daughters.
“The meals we packed at church were sent overseas, so this is really neat that the food is kept local. I’d like to maybe make this an annual family thing we do,” she said.
Carey said she’s open to making the packing event an annual way for students to give back to the community right before Thanksgiving.
“Mac and cheese is the number one most most requested food item in food pantries in the U.S., and they run out of it the fastest,” said Carey, who teaches biology and agriculture at the high school.
“The Million Meal Movement is unique in that they make their macaroni and cheese fortified with extra calcium and Vitamin D because kids in Indiana who are food insecure are low in those things, so it’s been fortified with extra nutrients. It’s also easy to prepare for families who don’t have access to milk or butter,” she said.
The meals can be prepared both in the microwave or on the stove, which adds to the convenience, said the teacher.
“They tried to make it as accessible to every Hoosier as possible,” said Lynch. “While the Million Meal Movement serves families around the state, the food we packaged here will stay right in our community.”
Sixteen-year-old Maddi Bowman, a junior on the cheer team, was thankful for the chance to help out Monday night.
“I just wanted to help my community in some way, and I know there’s people out there who need help with getting food,” she said. “Plus it’s a good way to bond with other people, not just those on my team. It’s a great way to bring people together.”
Greenfield-Central’s packing event was sponsored by Mueller Auto Body and Glass Shop of Greenfield.
To learn more about the Million Meal Movement, visit MillionMealMovement.org.
