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������̳’s Hunt Union Ballroom was transformed into a high-energy assembly line of beans, rice, spices, bags and recipe cards on Saturday, Sept. 7, as more than 50 student volunteers packed 25,602 meals to be donated to 22 Otsego County food banks.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to meet new people, help other people that I’ve never been able to meet before, and just have a lot of fun doing it,” said student volunteer Phillip Crannell, a biology major from Corinth, NY. “We’re having a fun time dancing out here!”

The students’ efforts are part of a larger goal organized by , a national nonprofit that founded the federally recognized September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance. With grant funding from 9/11 Day is supporting service activities for college-age students. ������̳ is one of 11 college campuses across the country working together to pack nearly 1 million nonperishable meal kits for those in need in their local communities.

“It’s been an awesome privilege to be a part of this,” said Samuel Cox, Operations Manager for the Pack Shack, an organization that partnered with 9/11 Day to work with college students across the country on the meal-packing project.

The Pack Shack sent ������̳ a sampling of the pre-packaged meals ahead of time, and staff from Sodexo (the university's dining service provider) cooked up a tray of the meals so that at the end of the event, the volunteers got to taste the meal they were packing.

������̳’s service day was led by the university’s Center for Volunteerism and Community Engagement, which organizes large community service events and connects students with service learning and volunteer opportunities in the region throughout the year.

“By the end of the day, we will have packed 123 boxes of meals to distribute to people in need in our community through the Otsego County Hunger Coalition,” said Linda Drake, Executive Director of the CVCE. “This is the first time we have done a project like this, and it’s been a wonderful experience seeing so many students having fun while supporting a great cause.”