It was party time at Towson's Pickersgill Retirement Community on Saturday morning, Feb. 25.
More than 100 people, most of them wearing hair nets, were crowded into a small auditorium at the retirement community. Laughing and chatting, they scurried back and forth around tables piled with boxes. Every once in a while, a large gong would boom and the crowd would erupt in applause.
These folks weren't celebrating a birthday or an anniversary. They had, in fact, gladly forked over a "cover charge" of $25 or more just for the privilege of sorting and packing meals.
With the assistance of a nonprofit organization called Stop Hunger Now, the nutritious, dehydrated "ready meals" of rice, vegetables, soy and other essentials were destined to be shipped to needy school children in Haiti and other developing countries.
The crashing gong was a signal that another 1,000 meals had been prepared and packaged and were ready to go out the door.
In addition to the donated "fee" to participate, each person also brought at least five non-perishable food items to give to the Maryland Food Bank.
"The two things I love about this program is that it addresses both international and local hunger issues," said Annie Brown, a Parkville resident who was the principal organizer of the Pickersgill event.
"The international part of our effort goes to schools overseas, where we'll be feeding children's bellies and their minds," she said. "And locally, we're also able to help out the Maryland Food Bank."
The high-energy public service is nothing new for Brown, who works as an administrative assistant to the dean of the Dundalk campus of the Community College of Baltimore County. Years ago, she launched a volunteer stream reclamation project that eventually led to the formation of the Herring Run Watershed Association.
Last fall, she was looking around for a new community project when she happened to read about a church group in Arbutus that purchased and packaged 16,000 meals for Stop Hunger Now, an international relief organization that has representatives in 32 countries.
Brown got in touch with the Stop Hunger Now and was even more energized when she learned it had coordinated a similar program with several colleges in North Carolina, resulting in a million meals for school children.
"The people at Stop Hunger Now told us what to do, which was mainly to raise money and recruit volunteers," said Brown, who on Saturday was also assisted by a representative from the organization on the meal-making assembly line.
Along with a handful of friends — Kitty Poole of Baltimore, Cheryl Slesinger of Nottingham, Angie Sabo of Parkville, Loretta Waltemeyer of Parkton, Terre Patrick of Baltimore City, Jenny Thorpe of Dundalk, Lynn Hunovice of Mount Washington, Laura Gillis of Baltimore City, Annie Krieger of Millersville and Kathie Sladics of Dundalk — Brown began spreading the word. The group also organized a silent auction to raise seed money for the food drive.
"We just started calling and e-mailing people that we know — family, friends, friends of friends — and everyone was so generous," Brown said. "And what's unique about having the actual event at Pickersgill is that it's not a school or a church."
The Pickersgill connection came about through Lynn Hunovice, activities director at Pickersgill.
"Besides being a great service to the community, we also thought this event would let people know who we are here at Pickersgill," Hunovice said.
The Saturday morning food drive at Pickersgill was a rousing success. At final count about 108 volunteers prepared 25,000 meals and raised $7,500. They also collected nearly a thousand non-perishable items for the Maryland Food Bank.
Brown said she's determined to maintain the momentum and enthusiasm that was so evident at Pickersgill.
"I'm just so inspired by Stop Hunger Now and what they do," she said. "I'd like to get this program out into the local community."
For more information on Stop Hunger Now, go to http://www.stophungernow.org.