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During the 2019 Rise Against Hunger effort in Gilmer County, Boy Scouts of America Adventure Crew members, from left, Skyler Smith, Cadence Smith, Grant Cromwell (hidden), Zack Kepley and Olivia Miller package meals at the Civic Center. The 2023 event is this Saturday morning at the same venue.
A local endeavor to package meals for those in need that has been curtailed due to pandemic concerns in recent years will be back in full swing this Saturday morning. The Rise Against Hunger, now conducted at the Gilmer County Civic Center, has produced more than a quarter-million meals in the last decade, organizers say.
Setup begins at 8 a.m. on March 4, with meal packing starting around 9 a.m. The scheduled ending time is noon. Local RAH coordinator, Dean Carlsen of Ellijay First United Methodist Church, said volunteers are always welcome.
“We go until the supplies run out,” he said. “The last time we did this, we were done by 11 (a.m.). Since I have been involved, we have packed around 250,000 meals over the years.”
Other churches and organizations involved have included Hope Lutheran, Good Samaritan Catholic Church, the Gilmer Christian Learning Center, Nine Mile and Gates Chapel UMCs, Cartecay UMC and Boy Scout troops.
Royce Hughes, of Cartecay UMC, a longtime volunteer and past organizer, said he first became involved with Rise Against Hunger’s predecessor, Stop Hunger Now, in 2010 at Dawnville UMC in Whitfield County.
“In 2013, Lloyd Vautrot and I co-chaired a team that became The Annual Gilmer County Rise Against Hunger Meal Packaging Event that took place in the Fellowship Hall of Cartecay UMC,” he noted. “The move to the Gilmer Civic Center really opened the door for broader participation from other churches (and groups) … COVID shut everything down for almost three years.”
The Civic Center is located at 1561 S. Main St. in Ellijay. Volunteers need not bring anything other than willing hands.