On Feb. 28, a crisp, rainy Saturday morning, approximately 50 students and adults spent three hours in  the school’s cafeteria trying to put a dent in the problem of world hunger.

The event was sponsored by the Saratoga Rotary Club, Interact Club and Stop Hunger Now, a national organization that hosts hands-on experiences where volunteers package meals themselves. The atmosphere was electric, and the volunteers busied themselves  creating, weighing, counting and packing the Stop Hunger Now meals.

These meals provide for people in need all over the world and go to an array of causes, such as ongoing school feeding programs that provide incentives for education.

Among the volunteers were students from Palo Alto High School and SHS, principal Paul Robinson and Rotary members. As the volunteers got to work, hairnets and gloves were distributed and hands sanitized.

“It was rewarding to know that such a small sacrifice of [two to three] hours to package food could make such a big difference for people around the world,” said senior Josh Pi, secretary of Interact. “It reminded me how lucky I am to have the resources I have, and to appreciate them.”

Music vibrated throughout the room through large speakers and a gong sounded for every thousand packaged meals. Volunteers danced, smiled and laughed as they worked together to help resolve world hunger and in three quick hours, a little over 20,000 meals are tucked into cardboard boxes that will travel the world to feed the hungry.

“The people there really knew how to keep morale high,” sophomore Peter VandeVort said. “They had music from all generations playing, they had a gong that announced we did a great job [and] they kept a positive atmosphere.”