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 at 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 in 2026.
Two years ago, the deacons joined forces with Catholic Charities, also part of the Diocese of San Diego, to strengthen their event. The agency works with many parishes to serve needy families in their communities through its Emergency Food Distribution Network+. Under the leadership of Bishop Michael Pham, the Catholic Charities set out to pack an additional 1 million meals this year to provide for hungry families across the diocese.
Of the remaining million meals, 500,000 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 will be transported to Ecuador, where Kids Around the World serves 4,000 poor children.
The volunteers — about 34% more than last year — came from 78 of the diocese’s parishes and from schools and other organizations.
“I wanted to give back to the community,” said Briana Powell, a first-time participant from The Immaculata Parish. “And to be a part of something great.”
