SALINAS VALLEY — Chesty Puller Battalion of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps, a nonprofit organization chartered by the Federal Government in 1962 that aims to instill principles of leadership within youth ages 10 to 18, recently volunteered with the Food Bank for Monterey County.
By expeditiously unboxing and sorting about 9,600 pieces of canned food, bagged food and milk cartons on Jan. 21, the cadets and adult volunteers in attendance helped enable the food distribution center to provide assistance for those in need in the Salinas Valley.
The Food Bank for Monterey County supports more than 240 distribution sites and about 15,000 residents each week.
Serving cadets from several regions of California, including the counties of Santa Clara, San Benito, Santa Cruz and Monterey, the battalion meets once a month at the historic campus of the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey.
At these monthly drills, they will often prepare for other service activities they participate in, such as color guard ceremonies, participation in the annual Watsonville Veterans Day parade, and local beach cleanup along the Central Coast.
The unit is open for enrollment, and more information can be found by visiting seacadets.org/join/.
