Remembering 9/11: Hundreds of Detroit volunteers pack food for those in need as act of service

DETROIT (FOX 2) - More than 450 volunteers in Detroit are rolling up their sleeves, joining forces to pack thousands of meals for those in need on Thursday.

Each meal was an act of service and remembrance of 9/11 and the sense of togetherness that was born out of tragedy.

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Each scoop, each bag seal, and each volunteer team is working together. Everyone was serving, packing meals for those in need across Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties.

"What we see behind me here is gonna help close the gap between Forgotten Harvest and some of our agency partners," said Christopher Ivey of Forgotten Harvest. "In Metro Detroit alone, there are over 589,000 people who are hungry every year, and these meals will go a long way to help us close that gap in the food that needs to get to those families."

Their work also served as a reminder to never forget on the 24th anniversary of 9/11.

"Unfortunately, that tragedy happened, and 3,000 people died, but the beauty of it is that we all came together as a nation and a community, and that’s what we need right now," said Ivey.

"A lot of our employees, being in the construction industry, are military veterans or active service members, so to us, it has a very special place," said HR Director Andrea Bloom.

The act is helping not only families here but across the nation through the 9/11 Day nonprofit.

"We started in 2002. One of our founders lost his brother, a volunteer fireman, that day. They formed the nonprofit to change the narrative about 9/11 from a day of supreme loss to a day of service," said 9/11 Day Rep Melissa Bunker. "Now we’re in 24 cities. Today we are packing 9 million meals, but it’s about a day of service as 9/11 is now known."