by Alicia Venter, Staff Writer
INDIANAPOLIS — In the back of the Expo Hall at the National Eucharistic Congress, hundreds of rotating volunteers are helping feed the hungry in Indiana. Donning a neon yellow hair cap, Catholics of all ages found a place in an assembly line to measure and pack food on behalf of Million Meal Movement, a nonprofit in the state.
They hope to make 360,000 meals by the end of the Congress to donate to food banks across the state.
“It’s amazing to see that everyone wants to come in and give a helping hand, whether it’s five minutes or 10 minutes of their time, helping my neighbors who really need it,” Molly Adams, the development manager at Million Meal Movement, said.
Adams, who is Catholic, describes seeing her faith come together this way as “unbelievable.”
According to the Million Meal Movement, one in five children in Indiana is food insecure, and nearly one million residents do not know where their next meal will come from. Since it was established in 2007 by a local couple, it has packed over 36 million meals for hungry Hoosiers across the state.
For the volunteers coming to the National Eucharistic Congress to grow in their understanding of God, the opportunity to help locals in the community they are briefly inhabiting was a heart-warming experience.
Nikki Moore has been volunteering with Million Meal Movement for nearly 10 years and was moved by seeing so many strangers take some time during the national event to volunteer. Even if they weren’t residents of Indiana, she said, they were preparing the food with compassion for her community.
“These are pretty self-sustainable in the packs,” Moore said. She explained that the food prepared — in this case, mac and cheese — is done so with the homeless in mind. All it takes is hot water to cook the pasta meal.
Sarah Carson, 17, came to the National Eucharistic Congress from Nashville, Tennessee. She has always valued volunteering and helps out local food banks three days a week. She attended the event because she appreciated the opportunity to see the world and the nation come together in their faith.
Part of her faith journey involves giving back to those in need. On July 18, she helped seal the mac and cheese containers for two hours.
“The day before I left, I was so nervous because I had no idea what to expect. I looked on the website the night before, I saw there was service — and I love service,” she said. “I knew it was something I wanted to do.”
After sealing the container, Carson passed the bag to Mary Marquardt, 72, who came to the Congress from Green Bay, Wisconsin, and she put a label on the bag and boxed them away. At her home parish, she volunteers with Feeding America.
“It’s our mission. We are called to feed the hungry and minister to the poor,” she said. “God has no hands but our hands. He has no feet but our feet. It’s what we are supposed to do.”