Elgin, Fox Valley residents on million meal mission for Haiti
If it takes a village to raise a child, then perhaps it takes a city to help a country.
Elginites and Fox Valley residents are joining together with the Elgin Salvation Army to assemble 1 million meals for earthquake survivors in Haiti.
So far, about 1,800 people have volunteered for two-hour shifts from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday to help pack the meals.
Elgin Salvation Army Major Ken Nicolai said organizers are still looking for 2,200 more volunteers for the effort, the only million-meal effort being coordinated outside of Kansas.
"It's spreading like wildfire, but we need all 4,000 people to complete the task," he said. "It's an enormous need right now (in Haiti for food)."
Nicolai said he was not surprised residents from Elgin and the surrounding area stepped forward offering their time and other in kind services, such as plowing the parking lot and providing portable toilets at the packing site, the former Seigle's Home and Building Center, 1600 Big Timber Road, Elgin.
The Salvation Army's World Service Office in Virginia paid for the food items, which will arrive in Elgin via semi truck Thursday.
Once the packing is done, the meals will be driven to Miami and loaded on a plane.
"We're providing the volunteer labor," Nicolai said. "People want to help but there was no tangible way to help (except by donating money). Not everyone can get cash in this economic climate."
Nicolai said volunteers will work in groups of 13 with each person part of an assembly line to put an item in the package.
The meals have rice, soy protein, freeze-dried vegetables and 21 vitamins and minerals.
Nicolai said the volunteer work is family friendly and suitable for people ages 8 and up. He also urged volunteers to bring a canned food item for the Salvation Army food pantry in Elgin, where unemployment is around 15 percent.
Volunteers must register for a time slot ahead of time at salarmyelgin.org.
For details, call (847) 741-2304.