SAN DIEGO — This year’s Million Meal Event is shaping up to be the biggest yet.
When it returns to Cathedral Catholic High School on Saturday, June 13, and Sunday, June 14, for its fifth year, the goal won’t be to pack just 1 million meals for hungry people in San Diego, Tijuana and Africa.
It won’t even be the more ambitious goal of 1.5 million meals undertaken in 2024, before reverting to 1 million last year.
At the request of Bishop Michael Pham, organizers plan to pack 2 million meals this year.
“We’re not going to say no to that, for sure. He’s the boss; he wants it, we’ll get it,” Deacon Mike Daniels, of St. Brigid Parish in Pacific Beach, said of the bishop’s request.
The Million Meal Event is a charitable project of the diocese’s permanent deacons, who promote it at their parishes, in collaboration with the nonprofit organization Kids Around the World and Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego.
Since the beginning, Kids Around the World has provided raw materials and equipment. Catholic Charities, which gives support with logistics, promotion and volunteer coordination, began its involvement with last year’s installment.
About 500,000 meals will be distributed in Tijuana and another 500,000 shipped to Zambia. The additional 1 million meals this year will be kept locally, where Catholic Charities will distribute them to food pantries in San Diego and Imperial counties through its Emergency Food Distribution Network + program.
The network includes 21 distribution sites, including 14 Catholic parishes and Cathedral Catholic High School.
“Food insecurity in San Diego County and Imperial County continues to be a serious and growing challenge,” said Appaswamy “Vino” Pajanor, CEO of Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego. “Rising housing costs, inflation, and reductions in SNAP benefits have made it increasingly difficult for many households to afford groceries.”
“That is why the additional 1 million meals staying local are so important,” he said. “These meals will help strengthen local food pantries, keep shelves stocked, and expand support to families, students and seniors across our region.”
Fulfilling Bishop Pham’s request to pack 2 million meals will mean raising about $600,000 to purchase the necessary supplies. (“That’s a challenge right there,” Deacon Daniels said.) It will also mean signing up about 5,000 volunteers. (“That’s a lot of people,” the deacon acknowledged.)
“But if we spread it out to the entire diocese, it’s not too much for each parish to help out,” said Deacon Daniels, who noted that people can already register and make donations at millionmealevent.org.
Volunteers will serve in 2.5-hour shifts, working in assembly-line fashion to fill food packets with red lentils, rice, dried vegetables, and vitamins. Each packet makes six meals. There will be two shifts on Saturday, from 8:30 to 11 a.m. and from 1 to 3:30 p.m., and one on Sunday, from 12:30 to 3 p.m.
Along with food-packers, volunteers are also needed to serve as table captains, who supervise the other volunteers at their assigned table, and as box runners, who carry boxes of the various ingredients to each table to replenish their supplies. Other volunteers will set up tables and canopies on Friday morning and clean up on Sunday afternoon.
Deacon Daniels recalled the 25th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, where Jesus describes the Last Judgment and says that our eternal fate will be determined by how we reached out to the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger in our midst, the naked, the ill and the imprisoned.
The Million Meal Event is “a chance to really live that Matthew 25 message of helping those that need help,” he said.
And it’s fun, too, he said, referencing the festive atmosphere that permeates the event, where food-packers do their work to the accompaniment of upbeat pop music played by a DJ.
“People are just dancing and having a good time,” he said, “and it’s a really joyful place to be.”
For more information, to register or donate, visit millionmealevent.org.
