MARIETTA, GA – In response to the shutdown of schools, Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church in Marietta hosted dozens of volunteers who prepared 25,000 meals for the charitable organization MUST Ministries which will distribute the meals to students in need, WXIA 11Alive.com reported.
“They’re going to be able to distribute the meals to the children that are out of school,” Philoptochos Society of Marietta President Patricia Koutouzis said, 11Alive reported. “Most of them would be receiving their breakfast and lunch at school, Monday through Friday. Now, they’re not going to be able to receive that.”
Nearly 100 people gathered, in spite of the cancelation of many events in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, 11Alive reported, adding that the event was coordinated by the non-profit organization Hunger Fight, whose mission is to end hunger and illiteracy.
Koutouzis told 11Alive, “Our priest sent out an email to our parish to inform them that we were still going ahead with this event, because we felt it was so important. We stressed if anyone was of the age group that could possibly get the virus, or if anyone felt that they had a fever or if they weren’t feeling well, to please stay away. We only wanted anyone who felt comfortable coming.”
“Before entering the meal prep area, every participant had to sanitize their hands,” 11Alive reported, adding that “they also had to wear hairnets and gloves while inside the room, and they were not allowed to touch their cellphones.”
The volunteers prepared “three types of meals… including oatmeal, cheesy macaroni, and rice with beans,” 11Alive reported.
“All of the food packages are fortified with extra vitamins to make them additionally healthy,” Koutouzis said, 11Alive reported. “It only takes boiling water to cook them. Some of the children will be in extended stays. They will be in an area where they really don’t have a kitchen available to them. But with these meals, they can just put it in a pot or a container, add boiling water, and they’ve got a healthy meal to eat.”
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