(MIAMI) On Monday, November 8, 2021, the Barry University Health & Sports Center will be alive with activity as students and employees race to prepare 40,000 food packs, most bound for Haiti, in only 4 hours. The event, a partnership with Cross Catholic Outreach, will feature a human assembly line, with tables lined with volunteers preparing the packs in record time.
“We have this down to a science,” said Tessie O’Dea of Cross Catholic Outreach, who has hosted hundreds of similar events around the country.
While a portion of the packed meals will be distributed in the South Florida Community, Barry University and Cross Catholic Outreach selected Haiti as the majority recipient due to the extremely high levels of hunger in the country—according to the World Food Programme nearly half the population need immediate food assistance— and also because many Barry students are of Haitian decent.
“It will be a challenge,” added Barry University Director of Campus Ministry, Karen Stalnaker, “But we’re confident we can meet this ambitious goal and do our small part to combat severe food insecurity in Haiti.”
Cross Catholic Outreach nutritionists have designed a balanced meal and menus are tailored to the region. Each food pack will contain soy, rice, pinto beans, dried vegetables, and a vitamin pack. Once assembled, the meals will be shipped to designated Haitian organizations for distribution.
The event is part of Barry University’s Founder’s Week celebration honoring the institution’s Adrian Dominican heritage and ideals, and it puts into practice Barry’s enduring commitment to collaborative service.
Rev. Dr. David G. Caron, OP, a former Barry Theology Professor now with Cross Catholic Outreach, will open the event with a short prayer. He noted, “By doing a Cross Catholic Outreach Food Packing service project that benefits the poorest of the poor as part of their Founder’s Week celebrations, Barry University faculty, staff, students, and alumni once again model what has been part of Barry’s core since the founders began the institution in 1940. Those founders would be proud.”
This initiative is generously supported by presenting sponsor Stearns Weaver Miller.
Contact: Gina Margillo
Communications Manager
PR@Barry.edu
(786) 564-6423