<p><strong>A</strong>s is typical the day after Thanksgiving, people were searching for the best Black Friday deals at malls and shopping centers.</p>
<p>In Johnson County, about 500 people were taking part in a different kind of tradition: Pack Friday.</p>
<p>Local residents helped feed the needy in central Indiana during the massive meal-packing event, organized by Pack Away Hunger. People filed into the Sycamore at Mallow Run to put together vitamin-fortified packages of rice, soy, vegetables and flavorings that can be easily prepared.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
<p>By donating their time working to eliminate hunger, the volunteers embraced the spirit of the holiday season, said Abigail Harlan, executive director of Pack Away Hunger.</p>
<p>“That fact that people take time out of their long weekend to invest in local Indiana hunger relief and food insecurity is invaluable,” she said. “They make a huge difference year-round for people who are hungry.”</p>
<p>At work stations set up throughout the Sycamore’s banquet room, volunteers donned hair nets and were assigned jobs. Some people poured in scoops of rice, soy or dried vegetables.</p>
<p>Others added the seasoning or the fortified vitamin mix. At the end of the tables, pairs of volunteers sealed each meal in a bag, while someone else packed them in boxes.</p>
<p>The system was efficient and streamlined. The work was broken into three shifts, and volunteers were able to put together nearly 80,000 meals.</p>
<p>“It really gives people an opportunity to come and serve with their families, and helps us raise awareness about hunger in Indiana and around the world,” said Allison Avin, Pack Away Hunger’s communications director.</p>
<p>Pack Away Hunger is a non-profit organization based on the southside of Indianapolis focused on improving the lives of children and others who suffer from hunger and malnutrition. The group created nutritious meal kits that can be shipped around the world and easily prepared with nothing more than a pot of boiling water.</p>
<p>Packing events are organized throughout Indiana during the year, and those meals go to hungry people both locally and around the world.</p>
<p>But all of the meals put together on Pack Friday go to hungry people in central Indiana, Harlan said. Some will go to organizations such as Midwest Food Bank and Gleaners Food Bank, while others will go to local public schools where they will feed hungry children.</p>
<p>Pack Away Hunger has also been working with area doctors to provide meals in their offices, if they encounter young patients showing signs of malnutrition.</p>
<p>“They can send them home with some meals and different outreach and community resources,” Harlan said.</p>
<p>The idea behind Pack Friday was born in 2011. A group of Pack Away Hunger volunteers and donors, disenfranchised by the overly commercialized message of Black Friday, decided to put their energy behind something positive.</p>
<p>They met at midnight in Pack Away Hunger’s headquarters to put together meals.</p>
<p>“Since Black Friday was starting at midnight, they wanted to do it then too, kind of a voice of dissent,” Harlan said.</p>
<p>Since then, the event has been an effort bringing hundreds of people together in communities throughout central Indiana. Pack Fridays are held in different locations every year, and routinely put together between 70,000 and 100,000 meals each time.</p>
<p>This was the first time Pack Friday was held in Johnson County, though Pack Away Hunger had done numerous other meal-packing events in the county.</p>
<p>Pack Away Hunger has a long-standing relationship with Mallow Run, and they’ve partnered together for packing events at the winery in the past, Avin said. This year, the organization was one of the recipients of proceeds from Mallow Run’s annual fundraiser, Wine at the Line.</p>
<p>Mallow Run offered to donate the space at the Sycamore, and Pack Away Hunger thought it would be a perfect place to host this year’s Pack Friday event, Avin said.</p>
<p>In addition to Mallow Run, the event is supported by an $11,000 grant from the Johnson County Community Foundation.</p>
<p>With that support, and an overwhelming response from local volunteers, Johnson County truly stepped up for this Pack Friday, Avin said.</p>
<p>“We have sold out all of our volunteer spots in the past, but usually, we have far fewer spots available,” she said. “The Johnson County community came out in force for this.”</p>[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="If you go" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p>Giving Tuesday meal-packing event</p>
<p>What: An opportunity to put together close to 20,000 meals for the hungry, to be distributed locally and throughout the world.</p>
<p>When: 3-5:30 p.m. today</p>
<p>Where: Pack Away Hunger, 5230 Park Emerson Dr. Suite A, Indianapolis</p>
<p>How to get involved: Sign up to volunteer at the event at <a href="http://donate.packawayhunger.org/gt2019">donate.packawayhunger.org/gt2019</a>. A suggested donation of $10 per person is requested the day of the event.</p>[sc:pullout-text-end]
