One day, 20,000 meals.

That is the goal of the Carbon County chapter of Thrivent Financial to purchase and package 20,000 meals to be distributed to food banks and pantries in our area.To meet this goal, Thrivent and other local organizations are hosting a bake sale and car wash in three locations throughout Carbon County. Proceeds will be used to purchase and package food in a "food packing frenzy," said Lisa Schneck, the communications director of the local Thrivent chapter.Organizers are working with Outreach Inc. to create this frenzy. Outreach Inc. is a nonprofit organization that sells bulk food items to package nutritious meals that cost just 25 cents each.This hunger drive comes at a critical time area pantries report that the number of hungry residents requesting food assistance is higher than ever.No person is immune to the plight of hunger, they note. The needy in Carbon County are a mix of the elderly, adults, and families with young children."Of the 65,249 Carbon County residents, over 1,300 children under the age of 18 are 'food insecure,' meaning that they do not know if they will have a meal on any given day," said Schneck.She noted that the drive will benefit all residents using local community pantries, but will focus primarily on undernourished children.Schneck hopes to gather local groups, including Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops and church youth groups and other volunteers to assemble food kits once they are purchased."We wanted to include the community in this endeavor. What better way than gathering volunteers and forming an assembly line to package the actual product," she said.Bake sales and a carwash to support the "packing frenzy" will be held on Saturday, Sept. 21 at:• Car wash: Advance Auto, Route 443 in Lehighton, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.• Bake sale: Country Harvest grocery store, Delaware Avenue In Palmerton, 9 a.m. to noon• Bake sale: First Northern Bank & Trust, Fourth and Lafayette Avenue in Palmerton, 9 a.m. to noon.Food distributions will take place around Thanksgiving.Volunteers and baked good donations are being sought. Monetary donations will also be accepted.For more information, contact Al Sellers at (610) 377-4067 or Schneck at (610) 852-2985.