As the Canton Lions Club builds toward an effort to assemble 100,000 meals for the needy later this month, the premise is simple to help area families that are struggling.
“We’re here to serve and we’re going to serve in a meaningful way,” Lions Club member Robert Bessel said.
And the need for sustenance right in the Farmington Valley is greater than many realize, according to senior and social services director Claire Cote.
In Canton, the food bank serves more than 100 families.
“There are people who don’t know where their next meal is coming from — in Canton. It’s surprising,” said Claire Cote, Canton's director of senior and social services.
And of 41 towns in the Greater Hartford area only a few adequately meet the “hunger gap,” to help those in need, Bessel said.
“There is a great and present need,” Bessel said.
So on Saturday, April 27, area Lions Club, the Avon-Canton Rotary and others will gather to put together meals that are blend of rice, lentils, dehydrated vegetables and Himalayan salt. The group is working with Feeding Children Everywhere, which works with organizations to pack the meals for world-wide distribution.
For the Canton effort, most will stay close to home.
Each bag is enough for six meals.
The effort came about when the Canton Lions Club was discussing ways to go beyond its normal channels of service, which includes work with low vision recipients, local scholarships and more.
Canton Lions Club member Dave Hudon was familiar with the effort since his church, St. Paul’s Lutheran in New Hartford, had undertaken a Feeding Children Everywhere project, putting together about 30,000 meals.
With the organization’s help, volunteers take different stations, adding the right amount to each bag, before it is heat-sealed and place in a box.
“It’s a great little production line,” Hudon said.
Peg Pinton, director of the Canton Food Bank said that while she knows some people who use food banks would not take the effort to prepare the meal, she does love it.
“I think the bags are an absolute fabulous idea for getting nourishing meals to people who need it,” she said.
Volunteer teams are scheduled to gather on Saturday, April 27, at the Canton High School Cafeteria to assemble the meals.
Bessel said the response has already been great. Canton High School is hosting a fundraising pajama day, Saint Patrick Church is fielding a team and 12 community organizations had signed on as of Wednesday morning.
The club is looking for help both on the production day as well as publicizing the event. It is also seeking financial help and needs to raise $25,000 to pay the 25 cents per meal cost.
For more information on how to help, links to donate and other information, log on to http://www.cantonctlions.org/
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