Greenwich Academy, Community Package 200,000 Meals To Help Children In Need

GREENWICH, CT — Nearly 2,000 students, faculty, alumnae and family members came together at Greenwich Academy earlier this month to package 200,000 meals that were sent to the Philippines.

The event, held with the international humanitarian organization Rise Against Hunger on Nov. 4, was the largest single-day meal-packaging event by a K-12 school in the organization’s history, according to an announcement.

GA Cares, the service committee of the Greenwich Academy Parents Association, organized the event.

The school said the meals were enough to feed more than 900 children for an entire year.

The event was held in part to mark the school's 200th year. Founded in 1827, Greenwich Academy is the oldest girls’ day school in Connecticut and the sixth oldest in the nation, according to the school. Its motto is "Toward the Building of Character."

Volunteers worked in assembly lines to package rice, soy, dehydrated vegetables and vitamins. Prekindergarten and kindergarten students provided kindness stickers for children receiving the meals.

Community members, including First Selectman Fred Camillo, and first responders also joined in on packaging lines, with volunteers from Brunswick School and Waterside School also participating.

Through Rise Against Hunger, Greenwich Academy is also funding a permanent community kitchen, dining space and clean water well.

Nearly 645 million people worldwide lack enough nutritious food to live a healthy life, with almost one in 13 people going to bed hungry each night, according to an announcement from the school.

"Rise Against Hunger is honored to partner with Greenwich Academy as the school celebrates its bicentennial through an extraordinary commitment to service,” said Rise Against Hunger Regional Director Robert Whitaker in an announcement. "By packaging 200,000 meals — the largest single-day meal packaging event by a K-12 school in Rise Against Hunger’s history — and funding a community kitchen, dining space and water well, Greenwich Academy is helping to holistically bolster food security and resilience in the communities we serve."

The organization has facilitated the volunteer packaging of more than 600 million meals for distribution worldwide. It also works with local leaders on sustainable agriculture and income-generating projects to support long-term food security.

Rise Against Hunger's global network is based in the United States and includes six international offices.