Staff of Encore Boston Harbor and additional volunteers are working this week to pack 500,000 meals for families in need, adding to the company’s previous total of packing more than a million meals over the past year.
The biannual charitable event, known as Feed the Funnel, and running from August 14 to 16 this year, is organized in partnership with The Pack Shack, a nonprofit that organizes meal-packing events for employers. Last August, Encore employees, vendors, partners, friends, and family packed more than 450,000 meals; in December, the team packed another 550,000, bringing the total over one million.
The meals are donated to food pantries and shelters throughout the Greater Boston area.
This week, some 2,000 volunteers are expected at seven packing parties spread out across three days, featuring food, refreshments, live music, special guests (Red Sox mascot Wally the Green Monster and Patriots cheerleaders have made appearances at past events), and more. Toasts, cake, confetti cannons, music, and more will celebrate major milestones along the way.
Opened in 2019, Encore Boston Harbor includes a Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star hotel, more than 210,000 square feet of gaming space, a spa, and a variety of acclaimed dining venues.