"Grains of Hope" packs 196,000 meals for the needy

Six hours, 800 volunteers, and 196,000 meals packed and ready for delivery to those who need them most, both in New Jersey and abroad.

It might seem like a lofty goal for a Sunday afternoon, but through the combined efforts of Pequannock’s civic organizations, citizens, and the community group named "Grains of Hope," it became a reality March 10 as hundreds of people streamed into the Pequannock Valley Middle School gymnasium to pack boxes with bags of rice, soy, and dehydrated vegetables for the best of causes.

The event was six months in the making, said 29-year-old event organizer and First Reformed Church of Pompton Plains pastor Chad De Jager. Over that time, Grains of Hope recruited 11 different civic organizations such as the Pequannock Valley Rotary, the Suburban Woman’s Club, and the Cedar Crest Protestant Community to lend a helping hand, and originally intended to raise about $25,000 and pack 100,000 meals. As word of the event spread, however, donations came in from across the country, and the number of volunteers swelled to 800.

By the end it had raised $47,500, which went towards the purchase of nearly 200,000 meals. Half of those will go to the small Haitian village of Karrefour, which sits near the epicenter of the devastating 2010 earthquake that left much of the country in ruins. De Jager, who visited the nation late last summer, said that although it may seem insignificant, the food has a great impact on the population.

The meals are calorically dense and high in nutritional content, and although the bags do not appear that big, if its contents are boiled for 20 minutes they will fill a 10 inch-by-12 inch casserole pan to the point of overflowing.

"It’s the poorest country in the western hemisphere. The average person lives on a dollar a day, and 80 percent of the people are in poverty," De Jager said. "This can make a life-sustaining difference in Haiti. The food does get there, and it’s received with joy among the people."

The other half will be picked up by the Community Food Bank of New Jersey and distributed along the Jersey Shore, specifically to the Food Bank of Ocean and Monmouth County, to feed the hungry mouths still reeling from Hurricane Sandy’s destruction.

"For us, what we loved about this opportunity was that we could help out at the local and international level. There are needs everywhere you look, and we wanted to make a significant difference in both directions," he said.

The pastor is hoping to keep the ball rolling, and said he not only wants the event to be a regular occurrence in Pequannock, but to expand it into other local communities.

"The coolest thing is seeing the whole community, 15 or 20 organizations, all coming together and doing something significant instead of just doing it individually," he said.

Email: janoski@northjersey.com