On September 11, 2025, in honor of the federally-recognized September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance (“9/11 Day”), nearly 500 volunteers from Southern Nevada joined together to pack nearly 130,000 healthy, non-perishable meals for those at risk of hunger, reflecting the spirit of unity and good deeds Americans everywhere engaged in in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Marking the 24th anniversary of the attacks as well as Hunger Action Month, meals packed during the Las Vegas 9/11 Day service project were donated to Three Square Food Bank for distribution to local individuals and families in need, including the UNLV Food Pantry.
The event was held at the Thomas & Mack Center, from 9 to 11 a.m., kicking off with an opening ceremony including welcome remarks from Elizabeth Hunterton, chief development officer of Three Square Food Bank, a moment of silence led by Retired Lieutenant Jay D’Angelo representing the Injured Police Officers Fund and “America the Beautiful” sung by Lorena Peril, lead vocalist for FANTASY at Luxor Las Vegas. In the second hour of the meal pack event, Liam and Tim of Thunder From Down Under and Ashton, Abby and Mandy from FANTASY cheered on the volunteers and thanked them for participating in the event. To close the event, Erick Harper, director of athletics for UNLV announced the final meal pack number and thanked all the volunteers for their work.
According to Feeding America, more than 47 million Americans face food insecurity in the United States. In fact, hunger touches every county in the U.S. This being the inaugural year for the Las Vegas Meal Pack for 9/11 Day was one of 25 large-scale volunteer service projects being organized in 24 cities throughout the nation by the nonprofit 9/11 Day (www.911day.org), which began the observance in 2002. Across the U.S., more than 30,000 individuals were expected to volunteer at 9/11 Day’s signature Meal Pack events, assembling more than 9 million shelf-stable meals for food-insecure Americans. All told, about 30 million Americans are expected to participate in the national observance by doing good deeds on September 11, 2025.
The 9/11 Day Meal Pack Program is sponsored nationally by the federal agency AmeriCorps, which oversees national service programs throughout the United States, and by Reliance, Inc. and Delta Air Lines. Other national sponsors include MUFG, Holland & Knight, JPMorganChase, SRS Raise the Roof Foundation, Pfizer Foundation, Tractor Supply Co. Foundation, Stifel, KBW, Western Alliance Bank and Nestlé.
More than 25 companies and organizations from throughout the Las Vegas community participated in the Las Vegas Meal Pack for 9/11 Day. Western Alliance Bank joined as a lead sponsor of the Las Vegas Meal Pack for 9/11 Day, along with Agilysys, All 5’s Construction, All Western Mortgage, Barclays, Breakthru Beverage Group, Capriotti’s, Delta Air Lines, DraftKings, Farmers Insurance, HF Foods Group, KFC, LP Insurance Services, Macy’s, Mastek, Merrill, OnTrac, Optum, PAK Foods, Pizza Hut, R&R Partners, Southwire, SRS Raise the Roof Foundation, Synchrony Financial, Taco Bell, Target, The PENTA Building Group, Veteran Benefits Guide and Vodafone Americas Foundation.
