More than 2,000 volunteers will pack over 700,000 meals at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Friday, Sept. 11. Organizers call it the largest D.C. meal-packing effort in the event's six-year history.
The non-perishable meals will go to families served by the Capital Area Food Bank. Representatives from the Washington Commanders and D.C. United will join volunteers on the assembly lines, according to WUSA9.
Each meal kit contains rice, beans, dehydrated vegetables, bottled oil, spices and Himalayan pink salt. Recipients add water and cook.
The D.C. event is one of 50 large-scale service projects across the country organized by 9/11 Day, a nonprofit founded in 2002 by Jay Winuk and David Paine. Winuk's brother Glenn, a Manhattan attorney and volunteer firefighter, died on Sept. 11, 2001, after rushing to the south tower lobby with a borrowed medical kit to help the wounded.
Nationwide, the Unite For Good initiative expects to mobilize 50,000 volunteers to pack more than 17 million meals on Friday.
"A good deed has a ripple effect. It feels good, inspires hope, makes the next good deeds easier to do," Paine told the Post and Courier on Sept. 9.
Sept. 11 is one of two federally recognized Days of Service. Congress designated it a National Day of Service and Remembrance in 2009 through the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.
The Capital Area Food Bank's 2025 annual report found that more than one in three Greater Washington residents were not always sure where their next meal would come from. The food bank provided food for nearly 62 million meals in 2025, and 41% of households affected by federal cuts reported food insecurity.
Members of John Lyon VFW Post 3150 in Arlington plan to pack meals at the convention center before attending the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial ceremony, according to Patch.
The main packing event is full, but Axios D.C. reported that limited spots remain on the event support team. Organizers encourage those who cannot volunteer to donate through 9/11 Day.
What's next
The Capital Area Food Bank is scheduled to release its 2026 Hunger Report on Tuesday, Sept. 15, at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, with CAFB President and CEO Radha Muthiah presenting.
