BY A STAFF REPORTER
ORANGE,CA- On Nov 21, the day before Thanksgiving, families,and friends, got together at the head officesof MS International here as the Sarva Mangal Family Trust, their charitable foundation,was hosting the first -`One Meal Charity’ event. Volunteers representing all age groups, from 2 to 82, enthusiastically packaged 20,000 meals.
ORANGE,CA- On Nov 21, the day before Thanksgiving, families,and friends, got together at the head officesof MS International here as the Sarva Mangal Family Trust, their charitable foundation,was hosting the first -`One Meal Charity’ event. Volunteers representing all age groups, from 2 to 82, enthusiastically packaged 20,000 meals.
These dried meals were packaged to have a shelf life of at least threeyears, so the recipient families can use them as needed. Each bag consisted of six mealsfull of nutritious vitamins, vegetables, lentils and rice.
Additionally 500 backpacks were distributed to the local homeless in Tustin. Each backpack consisted of a blanket, wool beanies/toileteries, 2 pairs of socks, a meal bag with 6 meals.
Packing the meals and backpacks was gratifying and fulfilling as it was for an amazing cause of feeding underprivileged families globally. There was food, music, energy, love, gratitude, and lots of enthusiasm all around. Volunteers were setup on the second floor of the office in 10teams. A quick introduction video explained the steps to package the meal bagsinto boxes, and the various tools were laid on the tables.
The whole setup was designed so kids naturally took the lead -using the measuring cups for the lentils, vegetables, and riceand filling them in the bags; using the digital weighing scaleto package each bag between 390 -395 grams. It was fun to watch the kids aim for precision and perfection, without anyone specifically mentioningit to them. They then carefully sealed the bags using the heat machine under adult supervision. Once sealed, they applied labelsthat identified the content and packaging year and laid the bags on a grid sheet. Once the boxes were filled, and packed, the youngest ones from different tables gathered together to push them down the makeshift slide. After packing and stacking the big 100 boxes,there was a quick pizza dinner break. Then it was time to get the red backpacks together. This time volunteers teamed up on two tables, and used the good old assembly line setup. The youngsters moved bags along the chain as the adults refilled boxes with supplies.
Additionally 500 backpacks were distributed to the local homeless in Tustin. Each backpack consisted of a blanket, wool beanies/toileteries, 2 pairs of socks, a meal bag with 6 meals.
Packing the meals and backpacks was gratifying and fulfilling as it was for an amazing cause of feeding underprivileged families globally. There was food, music, energy, love, gratitude, and lots of enthusiasm all around. Volunteers were setup on the second floor of the office in 10teams. A quick introduction video explained the steps to package the meal bagsinto boxes, and the various tools were laid on the tables.
The whole setup was designed so kids naturally took the lead -using the measuring cups for the lentils, vegetables, and riceand filling them in the bags; using the digital weighing scaleto package each bag between 390 -395 grams. It was fun to watch the kids aim for precision and perfection, without anyone specifically mentioningit to them. They then carefully sealed the bags using the heat machine under adult supervision. Once sealed, they applied labelsthat identified the content and packaging year and laid the bags on a grid sheet. Once the boxes were filled, and packed, the youngest ones from different tables gathered together to push them down the makeshift slide. After packing and stacking the big 100 boxes,there was a quick pizza dinner break. Then it was time to get the red backpacks together. This time volunteers teamed up on two tables, and used the good old assembly line setup. The youngsters moved bags along the chain as the adults refilled boxes with supplies.