Lions Club volunteers assemble oatmeal packets for the needy

More than a dozen members of local Lions Clubs put together oatmeal packets for needy families April 27 in an assembly line process at the Glory Days Grill in Barcroft Plaza.

Pam Martinov, of the Bailey’s Crossroads Host Lions Club, said the group planned to package 4,000 servings of fortified oatmeal and drop them off at the Culmore Family Resource Center. 

Other volunteers at the event were from the Arlington Host Lions Club, Arlington Northwest Lions Club, and Arlington South Lions Club. Each club contributed $300 to purchase the oatmeal kits from the Outreach Program, a food-packaging nonprofit based in Iowa. 

Those oatmeal packets have more protein and nutrients than regular oatmeal sold in stores. 

At the Glory Days event, volunteers filled the bags with soy flakes, dried apple cubes, flavor and vitamin packets, and oatmeal, then weighed, sealed, and labeled the bags. Each bag contains six servings. The oatmeal can be cooked on the stove or in a microwave.