1 Day. 1 City. And this year, 10,000 meals for people across our community.

Each year, 1Day brings together as many people as possible to accomplish as much as we can for our city, with projects at parks, schools and local organizations. In addition to those projects, volunteers at this year’s event on Saturday, Sept. 24, will also package 10,000 meals for local families who struggle with hunger.

With the help of Generosity Feeds, a Virginia-based organization that works to mobilize businesses, nonprofits, churches and schools across the U.S. to combat hunger at the local level, volunteers will spend two hours packaging the ingredients for a meal of rice and beans.

Those packages will then be distributed to the many families in our area who don’t always know when they’ll eat their next meal. A 2016 report by Feeding America estimates that more than 80,000 Hudson County residents — or 12.5 percent — struggle with food insecurity, the term the USDA uses to describe people without enough food to live a healthy lifestyle. Across New Jersey, that number rises to more than 1 million people — or 11.8 percent of the state’s residents.

“We always wanted 1Day to make a huge impact,” says Anthony, Hoboken Grace’s outreach director. “I learned about Generosity Feeds at a conference, and it always stuck in my mind as a great way to reach the community and impact thousands of lives locally.”

The challenge of packaging 10,000 meals in two hours, however, requires at least 150 volunteers — in addition to others who set up and clean up the event.

In the meantime, other 1Day volunteers will be working with In Jesus’ Name Charities, manning a food donation table at Acme, lending a hand at Hoboken High School, and cleaning up various parks and playgrounds. A few hours later, everyone will meet up for a huge after-party.

It’s shaping up to be the biggest 1Day yet! But we need your help to pull it off. Help spread the word, invite your friends and family, and register to volunteer today. Then, we’ll see you at 10 a.m. on Sept.24 at Church Square Park (4th and Willow), where the event will kick off before volunteers disperse to various projects across the city.

We can’t wait to see the difference we can make in 1 Day!