MAC Transforms Into Community Service Hub as Hundreds Turn Out for “Feed the Funnel” Event, Packing 51,000 Meals for Local Families

It was an incredible day today as The Mustangs opened their doors to the MAC – the Monroe Athletic Complex – and welcomed hundreds of volunteers for “Feed the Funnel,” a major community service event held in partnership with the City of New Rochelle and Volunteer New York!

Students, faculty, and staff from Monroe joined with New Rochelle residents and City leaders, as well as residents from surrounding communities, to pack more than 50,000 healthy, non-perishable meals to help hungry families across Westchester County.

The meals were packed in two sessions – one in the morning and one in the afternoon – to facilitate pick-up from the meal distribution partners, which included soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, residential programs and others in Feeding Westchester’s hunger relief network. The College’s own student food pantry also received some of the meals.

Stations were set up in rows across the basketball court with colorful baskets containing the various meal ingredients to be packed. As the DJ played plenty of loud, up-tempo songs, the volunteers got into a happy, fun rhythm of pouring rice, beans, seasonings and other meal items into a funnel, where they collected in packets to be sealed and boxed up for distribution.

By the end of the second session, 51,000 meals had been packed, besting the day’s goal by 1,000 meals.

Denzel Daniel, Associate Director of Residence Life at the College, was instrumental in organizing the event for the College, orchestrating all logistics with project leads for Volunteer New York! and the City of New Rochelle. It could not have gone better. Thanks, Denzel!

The “Feed the Funnel” program is a nationwide initiative. Eleven sites across the country were selected to receive grant funding to support the event and offset related costs. Collectively, more than 1 million meals are expected to be packed at those locations this month through the initiative. 

The neighbors-helping-feed-neighbors concept behind “Feed the Funnel” was inspired by the strong spirit of unity, service, and shared humanity that swept the country in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The event’s timing is intended to coincide with the federal September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance. 

Marc Jerome, president of the College, explained the event’s importance to Monroe’s college community: “This year marks Monroe’s 40th anniversary as a proud, warmly welcomed member of the New Rochelle community. In celebration, we are delighted to continue our strong tradition of community service by opening our doors and rolling up our sleeves to be a part of this incredible event to help our local neighbors in need.”

Today’s event would not have been possible without the generosity of time from the many, many volunteers and the financial support of its sponsors.

On behalf of those in the community who will enjoy the 51,000 meals packed today, Monroe extends its deepest appreciation to all involved, including sponsors Robison Oil, Empire City Casino by MGM Resorts, Levitt-Fuirst Associates and Webster Bank.

We also thank our wonderful project partners at Volunteer New York! and the City of New Rochelle. Let’s do it again next year!

See full news release here.