Photos and story by Monty Siekerman

Why are more than 150 people wearing hairnets (and one guy with a "beard net") listening to a speaker in a gymnasium?

MORE PHOTOS AT BOTTOM OF STORY -

More than 150 ONU faculty, staff, students and local citizens showed up Sunday afternoon at King-Horn to pack 40,000 meals.

The hairnets were worn for sanitary reasons. After everyone washed their hands, the packing began.

The nutritious meals consisted of a blend of rice, soy, vegetables, vitamins and minerals.
The meals will be given to those suffering from hunger and malnutrition with 75% going to Haiti and 25% to the West Ohio Food Bank.

All 40,000 meals were packed by the volunteers within  2 hours.

The cost of ingredients was 27¢ per meal (a little more than $10,000 total, for those without a calculator). ONU picked up the cost.

Rev. David MacDonald, university chaplain, headed up the meal-packing event.

PHOTO IDS:

• ONU Chaplain David MacDonald works with pharmacy students Rukaiyah Almarhoon (left) and Fatimah Aljumah and 4-year-old Ghaidu Almohammed Saleh, from Saudi Arabia. They were among more than 150 people who helped pack 40,000 meals Sunday in King-Horn.

• Surrounded by a large stack of rice, ONU President Dan and First Lady Chris DiBiasio help package meals for Pack Away Hunger at King-Horn on Sunday.