United in 50,000 Meals

As the sun rose Friday morning, volunteers flooded into the Bicentennial Center’s Heritage Hall to lend their hand to a service project by packing 50,000 macaroni and cheese meals for those in need.

The assembly lines began measuring, pouring and packing noodles and cheese into plastic bags at 7am. As the clock struck 9am – boxes of mac and cheese meals were rolling out to area churches and agencies.

Executive Director of the Salina Area United Way, Amanda Michaelis tells KSAL News that 200 volunteers utilized 20-work stations to get the job done. “It’s fantastic to see the turnout and how this community comes together,” she said.

“This has been a really fun event.”

City Commissioner Jon Blanchard was confident his line was setting the pace, “We have got a rhythm going,” he said. “I think this is the highest producing team in the factory here!”

Michaelis says each volunteer not only donated their time but also chipped in $10 to help pay for the ingredients.

The project was the kickoff event for the Salina Area United Way’s 2014 Campaign and the meals were sent to 20 different area food pantries.