In the back corner of the Wentz Volunteer Center at CHF’s Sylmar Distribution Center, three generations of volunteers work together to build a Meal Pak.
The youngest, Tyson, starts off by filling a bag with lentils before passing it off to his mom, Lindsay. She adds the potatoes and vegetables. Sandie, Tyson’s grandma, adds the salt and hands it to her oldest grandson, Caleb, who seals the bag and gives it to Grandpa Steve to deliver it to the bin with the rest of the Meal Paks.
The Peters family began volunteering at Children’s Hunger Fund after the pandemic shut down schools.
“They had a lot of time during the pandemic because school was a much shorter day for them,” explained Lindsay. “The oldest one is a teenager, and I was just prompted by the need to start doing things outside of ourselves a little bit.”
Joined by her three boys, her husband, her mom, and her husband’s parents, the Peters family volunteers with CHF at least once a month. Caleb, the oldest, has even brought his basketball team to volunteer!
“We all pitched in to pack boxes, and it was a great opportunity to do good things and help other people,” Caleb explained.
For the Peters family, volunteering is a fantastic time to help children in need, but it’s also about bonding as a family.
“I enjoy working the line with the boys,” said Grandpa Steve. “We get to spend really quality time with them, and we make it an outing. It depends on the time of day, but sometimes we will get ice cream afterwards or we’ll go get In-N-Out!”
Lindsay also loves the quality time that she gets with her family when they volunteer together.
“I like the face time with the kids. I really like that they are off a device and not in school and they’re talking and doing something that has some value,” said Lindsay.
Dayne, the middle son, agreed.
“It gives us something to do,” he said, “instead of sitting at home playing video games.”
Their favorite part about volunteering, however, is not making the Meal Paks or racing each other on the Food Pak line (Caleb and Dayne would both claim to be the fastest), but it is knowing where the boxes are going to that keeps them coming back.
“We love the fact that Children’s Hunger Fund not only supplies food, but they supply the gospel to children,” said Grandma Sandie. “It’s just great to see the boys involved in that.”
