SAN DIEGO — “Never did I ever think that it would be this big.”
Deacon Jim Scull was referring to the Million Meal Event, which he and a small team of deacons from the Diocese of San Diego launched five years ago. At the inaugural event, volunteers packed 1 million nutritious meals to distribute to impoverished families across the border in Tijuana and in Africa.
The deacons held the fifth edition of the Million Meal Event over the June 13 and 14 weekend, again returning to the expansive grounds of Cathedral Catholic High School. This year, around 5,100 volunteers doubled the number of meals they packed, to 2 million.
The event is a project of the diocese’s permanent deacons to serve the most vulnerable. They recruit volunteers at their parishes and raise funds to cover the event’s costs, which this year totaled about $600,000.
They collaborate with a Christ-centered nonprofit organization, Kids Around the World, which buys the bulk ingredients and distributes a portion of the meals overseas to the communities they serve. This year’s Million Meal Event was the largest of the nearly 200 packing events the agency will support across the nation in 2026, said its CEO, Jeff Rosene.
Two years ago, the deacons joined forces with Catholic Charities, also part of the Diocese of San Diego, to strengthen their event.
Catholic Charities works with many parishes to serve needy families in their communities through its Emergency Food Distribution Network+. Under the leadership of Bishop Michael Pham, Catholic Charities set out to pack an additional 1 million meals this year to provide for hungry families across the diocese, which runs the length of California’s border with Mexico.
Of the remaining million meals, 500,000 meals will again be destined for an urban center that serves needy families in Tijuana, Casa de los Pobres, operated by Franciscan Sisters. And the other 500,000 meals will be transported to Ecuador, where Kids Around the World serves 4,000 poor children in its feeding and discipleship program.
“You are not only packing meals today but you’re also feeding people in both San Diego and Imperial counties,” Catholic Charities’ CEO, Appaswamy “Vino” Pajanor, told the volunteers during the morning shift on June 13.
“Who is my neighbor?” Pajanor asked them. “It’s my neighbor next door as well as my neighbor who I don’t know.”
The volunteers — about 34% more than last year — came from 78 of the diocese’s parishes and from schools and other organizations. They cheerfully arrived in groups and families, some pushing strollers, as if they were going to an outdoor celebration. Participants ranged in age from around 8 to 80-plus.
They packed meals during two 2.5-hour shifts on Saturday and one on Sunday afternoon, working in assembly lines under large tents shading them from the hot sun. Many volunteers worked alongside people they knew, while others quickly introduced themselves and got to work.
They measured ingredients that went into each packet — red lentils, dehydrated vegetables, vitamins and minerals — and to seal and label each one. Then they placed the packets in boxes, which in turn were stacked for easy transportation.
A DJ played popular tunes during the packing shifts, with volunteers dancing along. Periodically, a deacon or another organizer would announce a new milestone— “We just packed another 200,000 meals!” — to widespread cheering.
Many volunteers were veterans of the event, while others were newcomers.
“It’s an amazing day for the community,” said Nicole Winfield, from St. James Academy, as she worked at a table alongside her children. “My kids enjoy it every year. It kicks off their summertime. To do something for others is our faith in action.”
This was the first time for Briana Powell, a young adult member of The Immaculata Parish. She was part of a group of about 50 volunteers from the parish who turned out for the Saturday morning shift, all sporting bright blue t-shirts.
She said she learned about the event one Sunday after Mass, when she stopped by a booth, and signed up on the spot.
“I wanted to give back to the community,” said Powell. “And to be a part of something great.”
Catholic Charities’ CEO, Pajanor, said he was sharing the Million Meal Event with the other Catholic Charities agencies across the country to show the impact the project can have at parishes, the diocese’s home region and globally.
At the packing tables, the deacons and priests worked alongside their parishioners. Newly ordained Deacon Joseph Parker, from Resurrection Parish in Escondido, was one of them.
“Today we’re helping to feed those who are in most need,” the deacon said. “We’re here to be able to serve. This is the Body of Christ. We’re all called to serve any way we can.”
Between shifts on Saturday, Father Eduardo Samaniego, SJ, who directs the diocese’s Office for the Permanent Diaconate, reflected on the challenges of starting and growing the event during its five-year existence. By 2024, volunteer interest had been so high that the deacons set out to pack 1.5 million meals, but accomplishing that goal turned out harder than expected. Last year they reverted to the original 1 million meal goal.
“Who would have thought we would get it up to 2 million?”, he asked.
He noted the number of children and young people who participated in event.
“The kids grow up enjoying it,” he said. “And eventually, you teach them why we do it.”
He pointed to a large banner that greeted volunteers entering the school grounds on their way to the packing tables, bearing the Gospel passage in Matthew 25: “For I was hungry and you gave me food…”
“We’re doing this for Jesus.”
