HELPING OUT — Last year, the Rev. Jake Steele, at right, then pastor of Christ United Methodist Church, helped package meals with his children 6-year-old Bethany and 12-year-old Brody. Also shown is volunteer Maddie Boyd of Weirton, back left, during the Rise Against Hunger event in Glen Dale. This year’s event is slated from 9 a.m. to noon March 14 at St. Jude’s Church Hall, 826 Jefferson Ave. -- File photo

GLEN DALE — Members of the public are invited to help pack an estimated 30,000 meals this month to help people in need around the world.

The annual Rise Against Hunger event is slated from 9 a.m. to noon March 14 at St. Jude’s Church Hall, 826 Jefferson Ave., Glen Dale.

The event is sponsored in part by the Rotary Clubs of Moundsville, New Martinsville and Wheeling.

Sharon Welsch, a Moundsville Rotary Club member, said this is the seventh year the clubs have joined forces for the event. She said the groups expect to pack about 30,000 meals, but they are hoping to pack at least 40,000 this year.

She noted the clubs do the work because they can.

“Our club does a lot in the local community,” Welsch said. “Everything from helping people who don’t have enough to eat to providing scholarships, but there is still a worldwide community that can’t survive because they don’t have enough to eat.”

Welsch said there are parents who specifically send their children to school because they know they will get the Rise Against Hunger meals.

“There was one gentleman who went to school for that reason and now he is a doctor in his community,” she said.

Welsch said the meals are sent to countries around the world – and sometimes to people in the United States. The group is notified where the meals were sent afterward. She said last year their meals helped feed people in Ukraine.

Welsch encourages people to come out and help.

“The room is full and everyone is happy and working together. It’s a wonderful vibe,” she said. “It’s a well-oiled machine. We’ve been doing it for several years and know what we’re doing and Rise Against Hunger knows what it’s doing.”

Volunteers will be given breakfast, sponsored by CertainTeed Gypsum, starting at 7:30 a.m. And starting at 8 a.m. the assembly line will be set up.

The meals help people in countries who are experiencing natural disasters, war and famine.

Those who are interested in volunteering can register on the Moundsville Rotary Facebook page or go to http://events.riseagainsthunger.org/Moundsville2026.

“Gifts of time and treasure help those struggling to find a nourishing meal and resolve the daily concern of people who worry if they have enough to eat,” according to Welsch’s information. “It’s important to know that the joint clubs’ efforts improve lives for the people here in the Northern Panhandle and around the globe.

“The event is a great team building opportunity. Businesses and social groups looking for an activity that people at all levels can participate in will enjoy this event.”

Sponsors of this year’s packing event include:

– Gold Sponsors of $1,000: Christ United Methodist Church, Expand Energy, Fort Henry Capital, and Rotary District 7545.

– Silver Sponsors of $500: Hartley Law Group, Highline Warren, Jackson Kelly, Moundsville Rotary Club, New Martinsville Rotary Club, Westlake, Wheeling Rotary Club.

– Bronze Sponsors of $250: Altmeyer Funeral Home, Blalock Mediation Services, John Kepner, Reisbeck’s Food Market, Steptoe-Johnson and WVU Medicine.