Santa Clarita Rotary fills the stomachs and hearts of local veterans

Rylee Kelemen
October 29, 2022
3:29 pm

From one veteran to another, veterans committee chair R.J. Kelly worked through Santa Clarita Rotary to host a sustainable food packaging event for their Veterans Outreach Program on Thursday – an event intended to show love and appreciation for local veterans.

The sustainable food packaging event collected and packed 10,380 meals of rice, beans and pasta.

Individual bags of rice and beans are packaged to be donated to veterans during the Santa Clarita Valley Rotary Sustainable Food Packaging event for their Veterans Outreach Program at Higher Vision Church in Valencia, Calif. on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. This sustainable food packaging event is geared toward helping to stop food insecurity in the local veteran community. Chris Torres/The Signal

“I’m a Vietnam vet, and there are a lot of things that we didn’t get when we came back,” said Kelly. “We want to make sure the younger generation gets (what we didn’t have) and make sure that they know how to reach out and that we can reach out to them.”

Kelly estimates that in the Santa Clarita Valley there are approximately 14,000 veterans. Out of that number, 1,200 to 1,400 are in need of assistance.

Atherine Blanco with Coffee4Vets smiles during the Santa Clarita Valley Rotary Sustainable Food Packaging event for their Veterans Outreach Program at Higher Vision Church in Valencia, Calif. on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. This sustainable food packaging event is geared toward helping to stop food insecurity in the local veteran community. Chris Torres/The Signal

Kelly said that through this program, all he hopes for is having the veterans in need know that they are loved, appreciated and thanked.

“It really builds their self-esteem,” said Kelly.

Volunteer organizations have each taken their portion of the meals to distribute themselves. Kelly and Santa Clarita Rotary have also taken some of the donated meals and will distribute them over the next few weeks.

Santa Clarita Valley Rotary Club President Diane Kenney speaks with event volunteer Steve Corn while he packages individual bags of rice and beans to be donated to veterans during the SCV Rotary Sustainable Food Packaging event for their Veterans Outreach Program at Higher Vision Church in Valencia, Calif. on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. This sustainable food packaging event is geared toward helping to stop food insecurity in the local veteran community. Chris Torres/The Signal

Event volunteer Patricia Sunday scoops soy into individual bags of rice and beans to be donated to veterans during the Santa Clarita Valley Rotary Sustainable Food Packaging event for their Veterans Outreach Program at Higher Vision Church in Valencia, Calif. on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. This sustainable food packaging event is geared toward helping to stop food insecurity in the local veteran community. — Santa Clarita Valley Rotary Club President Diane Kenney speaks with event volunteer Steve Corn while he packages individual bags of rice and beans to be donated to veterans during the SCV Rotary Sustainable Food Packaging event for their Veterans Outreach Program at Higher Vision Church in Valencia, Calif. on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. This sustainable food packaging event is geared toward helping to stop food insecurity in the local veteran community. Chris Torres/The Signal

Rylee Kelemen

Rylee Kelemen (née Holwager) joined The Signal team in June 2022, but has lived in Santa Clarita her entire life. She loves to tell the people’s stories and keep the public informed. She is a graduate of California State University, Northridge and was the Social Media Editor at her time with The Daily Sundial. Have a story to share? Email Rylee at [email protected].