Monroe University Hosts Local Community for Second Annual Meal-Packing Event to Feed Area Families

More than 250 volunteers from New Rochelle gathered at the Monroe Athletic Complex last Friday to join Monroe University students, faculty, and staff at “Serve and Remember,” our second annual meal-packing community service event to help feed area families.

The event was a collaborative effort among the University, Volunteer New York!, the City of New Rochelle, The Pack Shack, and Feeding Westchester.

Dozens of meal prep stations were set up on the basketball court in the Monroe Athletic Complex – better known as “the MAC” on campus – with bins of rice, beans, and other non-perishable ingredients. Upon arrival, volunteers were assigned a role at one of the stations, working with others to assemble the ready-to-cook meals. 

The event was a tremendous success as volunteers successfully packed more than 50,000 healthy meals over three and one-half hours for Westchester County families. Feeding Westchester was on hand to take delivery of the meals for distribution throughout its network of local soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, residential programs and other partners.

As the meals were packed, a DJ played fun, upbeat music to keep the volunteers moving and grooving at their stations. At various intervals, volunteers were asked to come up and ring a celebratory gong to signal another mile-marker number of meals packed. 

New York State Senators Nathalia Fernandez and Shelley Mayer, New York State Assemblymember Steven Otis, and Westchester County Deputy County Executive Ken Jenkins were among those donning hair nets and gloves to work one of the meal-packing stations. 

Many of the volunteers were student-athletes from Monroe’s Division I Monroe Mustangs athletic program (New Rochelle campus). 

“It felt really good to be able to give back. I think it’s especially important for us, as a team, to give back to the community,” said Monroe University first-year student Ariel Walker, who participated in the event along with her Women’s Basketball teammates. 

Monroe University Women’s Basketball Coach and Professor Camille McLellan joined her team in helping to pack the meals.  

“It was a really fun experience. We got to do this last year, too, and it was great to have the opportunity to do this again,” McLellan said. “We have a lot of new faces this year, a lot of freshmen, so it was really fun to introduce them to who we are with this event and have the chance to give back.”   

The Serve and Remember event, which is held in conjunction with the 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance, is designed to bring together people in the spirit of service and cultivate that same feeling of shared humanity and goodwill experienced by the nation in the period following the September 11 tragedy.

Katie Pfeifer, Volunteer New York’s senior director of programs, said Volunteer New York! said Monroe University immediately came to mind when they were organizing a Westchester County service event to remember the lives lost on September 11, 2001.  

“Volunteer New York! mobilizes our community to address its greatest challenges and Monroe University is a school of service,” Pfeifer said. “Our partnership brings together students and community members to address hunger in our community and to honor lives lost on September 11.”  

Denzel Daniel, associate director of Residence Life and a Monroe graduate, was a key part of organizing the event at the University. Events like “Serve and Remember” that engage students, faculty and staff are held several times a year at the University and have a profound impact on students, faculty, administration and staff.  

“This is our second year doing this event and the impact it had on staff, students and the City of New Rochelle and Westchester [County], it really showed me just how much Monroe cares about the community,” Daniel said. “This event is particularly special as this is our first major act of volunteerism since becoming Monroe University and we are so proud to be a part of this work to change lives and do good in our communities.” 

For more information, please see the terrific coverage from News 12.