More than 200 volunteers prepare 145,000 meals bound for Uganda and Ecuador in local nonprofit’s effort
Once again, the Stomp-ing Out Hunger Project was successfully completed on Saturday, April 12, with more than 200 kindhearted people gathering to set up and assemble a record 145,000 meals bound for Uganda and Ecuador.
For the fifth year, Teri Harmon once again partnered with “Kids Around the World,” a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit, to participate in “OneMeal,” which empowers groups to be a part of the solution of child malnutrition. Her event, called“STOMP-ing Out Hunger,” gathers together local volunteers to assemble food packets that are sent to children living in impoverished villages in Uganda and Equador. This food is distributed in different care points, such as orphanages, schools, homes, churches, and community feeding centers within each country.
People from all over the Santa Ynez Valley and beyond came to help, along with teams of people from Montecito Bank & Trust, Solvang Rotary, Dr. Morelli’s DDS office, Valley Christian Fellowship, Bank of California, Bible study groups, PEO Sisterhood, Presbyterian Church, Bilancia Pilates, and others. The biggest representation of support came from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with its 50+ members and 10 missionaries who helped to carry the heavy boxes of food packets and restock the bins as the stompers needed. Mary Jones and her team helped behind the scenes, and members of the Santa Ynez High School tennis team helped to set up the event the day before.
“This was no easy task given the number and weight of supplies that needed to be set out,” said Teri Harmon.
Teri and John Harmon’s family and friends from San Diego attended for the fifth year and were instrumental in running the whole project that was held at the Presbyterian Church’s Family Center in Ballard, with everyone wore matching T-shirts.
“Overall, it was a very large team effort to benefit children in need of food and nutrition,” said Harmon. “The organization Kids Around the World is the NGO that administers the food program and gets the assembled food packets to their intended destination once the boxes are packed. Each assembled bag contains six meals, and 36 bags are then packed into one box (216 meals per box) that can feed a child for an entire school year. This year, over 670 boxes were packed by the volunteers, thereby setting another event record for the number of meals packed (145,000+) in 4 hours,” Harmon explained.
Harmon has had previous experience with serving the children the food packets in Swaziland, Uganda and Ecuador and has seen firsthand how important these meals are to those that qualify and need to receive them.
Harmon said that the team that packed the most this year, and in previous years, was led by Athena McCandlish. Her team was Tanner McCandlish, Russell McCandlish, Karina Miller, Shiva Miller, Levi Miller, Scott Miller, and Harmony Miller.
“Athena’s team was the first to start packing and last to leave,” Harmon said. “Solvang Rotary members organized by Walt and Kay Alves also stayed to the end, limping out with big smiles, knowing they had just completed something special.”
“Thank you stompers. Once again, you made a big contribution and difference in the lives of many children in need,” she said in conclusion.
