Million Meal Pack returns for third year straight

NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State University has partnered with State Farm for the third annual Million Meals Pack Event.

On Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., volunteers worked at Redbird Arena to reach their goal of packing 1 million meals for families in need. Every meal packed at the event will support food pantries across McLean County and Illinois.

Melissa Schrader, a manager in the Corporate Responsibility Department with State Farm, oversaw the event with her ISU counterpart, Leanna Bordner, chief operating officer in the Athletics Department. Both have worked with this event since it is first year.

Schrader graduated from ISU over 20 years ago with a degree in communications, making her work with the university especially meaningful.

“As long as there’s need, I feel that this is something that we want to do. It is a wonderful thing to give back to the community. It’s not a huge lift for anybody to come out and volunteer and just give an hour and a half of their time. So, I want to keep doing this year after year after year, and I hope we continue to be able to do this right here,” Schrader said.

It is estimated that a total of one in eight people and one in six children in Illinois face hunger.

“Of that number of one and eight, that’s 1.5 million people in the state of Illinois. And what’s also staggering of that number, over 400,000 of them are children. So, this isn’t just you and me. This is for kids. This is for everybody, so they can so they can succeed. Families shouldn’t have to decide, do I pay my rent or do I feed my family? They shouldn’t have to make those kind of decisions at all,” Schrader said.

Bordner has worked at ISU for 34 years and helped to coordinate the university’s involvement in this event. Several ISU athletic teams, including swim and dive, soccer, gymnastics, track and field and men’s basketball attended and took part in the event.

Redbird Life and the Office of Civic Engagement also coordinated with the student organizations and coordinated a competition with the fraternities and sororities.

“There are so many people in this community, but it takes everyone,” Bordner said.

ISU staff, students, and student-athletes worked alongside State Farm current employees and retirees and community members, church groups, and the Salvation Army. The Midwest Food Bank was another local partner with a volunteer database.

“The really cool thing is when you’re out there, you see four or five young people, working along with four or five folks that, quite honestly, could be their grandparents. And they work together, and it’s just, it’s very rewarding. It helps me reinforce both externally and for me why we do this. And it’s all about partnerships,” Bordner said.

Individuals five years of age or older were able to volunteer by signing up for a time slot or walking in.

One family that volunteered was ISU alumni Josh Meyer, class of 2012, and his wife Kathy, class of 2011, attended the event with their three children, Cary, 11, Clark, 8, and Chloe 6.

“We try to instill in our kids that they should do an active service for people as often as they can. They’re part of the Cub Scouts and as part of Cary’s requirements, you have to do some service hours. And we’ve done the Million Meals Pack in the past, as part of that, and that was offered as an opportunity here. So, it kind of kills two birds with one stone like we get to come out and it’s about community responsibility and also getting that requirement checked off,” Meyer said.

ISU and State Farm hope to hold this event again next year and will be seeking volunteers. Community members can watch for information about next years Million Meals Pack event.