First Annual San Francisco Meal Pack for 9/11 Day

In observance of the 17th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks and the federally-recognized 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance (“9/11 Day”), prominent Bay Area nonprofits are teaming up with the nonprofit MyGoodDeed, which began and is the national organizer of 9/11 Day, to stage the First Annual San Francisco Meal Pack for 9/11 Day, to be held at Pier 35 on The Embarcadero, between Bay Street and North Point Street, on Tuesday, September 11, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Leading the 9/11 Day initiative in the San Francisco Bay Area are: 9/11 Day, HandsOn Bay Area, San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, sf.citi, SF Interfaith Council, SF Veterans Affairs Commission, Project Homeless Connect and The Outreach Program.

More than 1,000 volunteers are expected to help pack up to 300,000 meals throughout the day to support Bay Area individuals, families and veterans who are food insecure. San Francisco-Marin Food Bank will oversee the distribution of these meals to communities and individuals in need.

Signing Up to Volunteer

Members of the public who wish to participate as lead volunteers at the San Francisco Meal Pack for 9/11 Day may sign up at: https://www.picatic.com/911dayBayAreaVolunteers. Space is very limited, and walk-ins cannot be accommodated. Volunteers will either work as table captains/supervisors or help pack meals for approximately two hours during one of four designated volunteer work shifts during the day.

Principal funding for the Bay Area project is provided by Citi Foundation, Corporation for National & Community Service, American Express, LinkedIn, Wells Fargo, Okta, Union Bank, Turner Construction,
Visa, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Pixar, First American Title Insurance Company and Sandler O'Neill + Partners.

“The San Francisco Meal Pack for 9/11 Day is a powerful and inspiring demonstration of this community’s ongoing commitment to remembering the 9/11 victims, and paying special tribute to members of our military, veterans and their families, who continue to give so much, including in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks,” said Liz Upchurch, director of Programs, HandsOn Bay Area, one of the co-hosts of the project.

“The spirit of 9/11 Day is something we subscribe to every day – working tirelessly to make a difference and strengthen our community. Working with partners like MyGoodDeed and and HandsOn Bay Area on a meal-packing event certainly moves the needle on hunger in our community; where 1 in 4 residents doesn’t make enough money to feed his or her family on a daily basis,” says Paul Ash, executive director of the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank.

Nation’s Largest Day of Service: Transforming a Day of Tragedy into a Day of Doing Good

9/11 Day was originally created in 2002 by the nonprofit MyGoodDeed, with the support of families of 9/11 victims throughout the nation. In 2009, the U.S. Congress joined with President Barack Obama in a bipartisan effort to formally recognize the anniversary of 9/11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance under federal law. Since then, 9/11 Day has grown to become the nation’s largest annual day of charitable engagement, with more than 30 million participants.

“Our mission from the beginning has been for Americans to take back the day, to transform 9/11 from a day of tragedy into a national day of doing good as a lasting in tribute to the 9/11 victims and all those who rose in service in response to the attacks,” said Jay S. Winuk, co-founder and executive vice president of MyGoodDeed and 9/11 Day. Winuk lost his brother, Glenn J. Winuk, an attorney and volunteer firefighter and EMT who died in the line of duty in the collapse of the World Trade Center on 9/11. “We are honored to work with the communities of the San Francisco Bay Area to support the launch of the First Annual San Francisco Meal Pack for 9/11 Day.”

The San Francisco Meal Pack for 9/11 Day is one of four major meal packing projects now being organized by MyGoodDeed for 9/11 Day this year. The others are in New York City, Los Angeles and Arizona. MyGoodDeed is partnering with The Outreach Program, based in Iowa, to manage the food packing operations for these major projects. MyGoodDeed is also working to support a large meal packing project in Washington, DC, organized and lead by AARP, and a military care package project in Boston, organized and lead by the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund.

Altogether, MyGoodDeed’s meal packing events are expected to generate as many as 1.7 million non-perishable meals this 9/11 Day for people in need. MyGoodDeed plans to establish as many as 20 Meal Packs for 9/11 Day in cities across the nation for the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in 2021.

For More Information

MyGoodDeed invites those interested in 9/11 Day to visit the organization’s website, 911day.org. The website includes a searchable database of volunteer opportunities, along with many other free resources, including lesson plans, photos, videos, and other toolkits for individuals, parents, teachers and organizations. Media and the public are also encouraged to share the message of support for 9/11 Day on social media channels, using the hashtag #911day.