More than 1,000 volunteers packed 990,864 hunger-relief meals at the Iowa Events Center on Oct. 20, breaking the previous Guinness World Record. Half of the meals will be distributed across Iowa.
Updated Oct. 22, 2026. Originally published Oct. 19, 2026.
By Hola America News
DES MOINES, Iowa — More than 1,000 volunteers in Des Moines packed 990,864 hunger-relief meals in just one hour on Tuesday, Oct. 20, setting a new Guinness World Record and nearly doubling the previous mark.
The event took place at the Iowa Events Center’s EMC Expo Center and was organized by the World Food Prize Foundation and Des Moines-area nonprofit Meals from the Heartland.
Thomas Bradford, an official Guinness World Records adjudicator, verified the achievement on site, according to the World Food Prize Foundation’s Oct. 20 announcement.
Organizers had initially aimed to package 600,000 meals during the one-hour event. Volunteers exceeded that goal by 390,864 meals.
Des Moines volunteers surpassed the previous world record by 460,800 meals
The previous Guinness World Record for the most hunger-relief meals packaged in one hour stood at 530,064. With 990,864 meals completed, the Des Moines volunteers surpassed that mark by approximately 87%.
The effort involved 60 packing tables, each staffed by 16 volunteers, according to the World Food Prize Foundation. Participants worked together to prepare, package and box food intended for children and families experiencing hunger.
The record-setting effort took place on the opening day of the 2026 Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue, part of the World Food Prize’s 40th anniversary activities.
Thomas Vilsack, CEO of the World Food Prize Foundation and former U.S. agriculture secretary, praised the volunteers and emphasized that the achievement would also provide food for people in need.
Half of the 990,864 meals will stay in Iowa
The record also has a direct connection to local hunger-relief efforts.
Half of the meals packaged on Oct. 20 will be distributed across Iowa, while the remaining meals are intended for communities around the world, according to the World Food Prize Foundation.
Before the event, Meals from the Heartland outlined a distribution plan that included six food bank partners serving Iowa children and families.
The organization also identified Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska and eight countries as intended destinations for meals distributed outside Iowa. The post-event announcement did not provide a final shipment schedule or a complete list of recipient communities.
The World Food Prize Foundation described the packaged meals as containing rice, soy protein, dehydrated vegetables, vitamins and minerals. The food can be prepared using boiling water.
How many children could benefit from the meals?
Organizers estimate that the 990,864 meals could provide approximately 2,037 children with nutritious food for an entire year.
That number represents the organization’s estimate of the meals’ potential reach. It does not mean that 2,037 children have already received the food.
Chuck Current, executive director of Meals from the Heartland, emphasized in the foundation’s announcement that the importance of the record lies in getting the meals to children and families facing hunger in Iowa, elsewhere in the United States and internationally.
How to volunteer with Meals from the Heartland after the record event
The Oct. 20 meal-packing event has ended, and registration for that record attempt is no longer relevant. However, Meals from the Heartland continues to organize volunteer opportunities in the Des Moines area.
People interested in helping can visit the nonprofit’s official volunteer opportunities page to learn about meal-packing shifts and other ways to participate.
Established in the Des Moines area in 2008, Meals from the Heartland works with volunteers and distribution partners to provide food assistance in Iowa, across the United States and internationally.
The record-breaking event was part of the 2026 Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue, held Oct. 20–22 in Des Moines. The conference brings together experts and organizations working on agriculture, nutrition and global food security.
Related: A guide to free meals, food pantries in the Des Moines metro, and how you can help.
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