Five area Rotary Clubs joined forces March 11 to help reduce hunger in the Lehigh Valley as they set up a production line operation in Moravian College’s Haupert Union Building. Over 100 Rotarians from the Bethlehem, Morning Star, Easton, Nazareth and Saucon clubs packed rice and bean and apple cinnamon oatmeal meals for distribution to area food banks.

Packing 20,000 dry meals in several shifts, the effort marked the first time that all five clubs in Rotary District 7430 had partnered on a community service project.

The five clubs raised $5,000 to purchase the materials that were used to pack the meals. The effort was coordinated by Outreach Inc. and End Hunger NE. Participants are able to choose from among four meal options and completed meals can be distributed locally and internationally, according to Outreach representatives Bobby and Michele Polito.

The idea came from a district Rotary conference where Bethlehem Rotarians participated in a similar initiative, according to Bethlehem and Morning Star Rotary Club presidents Gail Evans and Sharon Fontana.

“We thought, wow, we could do this,” Evans said. Both hope to see this become an annual event.

Area food banks who were slated to benefit include Salvation Army of Bethlehem, Trinity UCC Food Pantry, The Hispanic Center of Lehigh Valley, Easton Hunger Coalition, Betty Lou’s Food Pantry, Coopersburg, New Bethany Ministries, Northeast Ministries and the Nazareth Food Bank.