Students prepare Thanksgiving meals for the needy

The sophomore class of St. Sebastian School in Needham made a service trip Nov. 9 to Catholic Charities’ Yawkey Center to prepare 1,800 Thanksgiving meal packages for families in need.

The 60 students moved cases of prepared foods and canned goods from the parking lot to a large hall in the center’s basement and meal packages were prepared in assembly line fashion. Some boys carried food trays, some added food at each station while others bagged and stacked the completed packages.

St. Sebastian’s has financially supported Catholic Charities’ food pantries for the last 18 years, said Virginia Reynolds, spokesperson for Catholic Charities.

Catholic Charities Boston will distribute about 5,000 meals to families this Thanksgiving, and over 2,000 of those meals were assembled by youth including members of two youth groups at St. Mark and Blessed Mother Theresa Parishes in Dorchester, said Reynolds.