Twenty-five years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Americans will once again pause to remember the nearly 3,000 people who died, the first responders who ran toward danger, and the countless people whose lives were changed forever.
In Utah, the anniversary will also be marked by an act of service.
On September 11, 2026, hundreds of volunteers are expected to gather at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City to pack an estimated 168,000 nonperishable meals for Utah families facing food insecurity. The meals will be donated to the Utah Food Bank.
The Salt Lake City event is part of a much larger effort organized by 9/11 Day, which is using the 25th anniversary to push for a lasting transformation of September 11 from a day remembered primarily for tragedy into a national day of unity and service.
Nationwide, the organization plans to bring together 50,000 volunteers in 50 cities to pack 17 million meals in a single day. More than 800 corporations are expected to participate, according to the 9/11 Day announcement.
“Our goal is to transform the 9/11 anniversary, for all time, into an annual moment of national reflection, unity and doing good in tribute to the 9/11 victims, their families, and the many first responders, recovery workers, volunteers, and military personnel who rose in service in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks,” said David Paine, president and co-founder of 9/11 Day. “We want to reclaim the day.”
For Jay Winuk, 9/11 Day’s executive vice president and co-founder, that mission is deeply personal. His younger brother, Glenn Winuk, an attorney and volunteer firefighter and EMT, died in the line of duty at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
“My brother Glenn, like so many courageous first responders, sprang into action to save people he didn’t know on 9/11,” Winuk said. “But you don’t have to run into a burning building to be heroic in your community or in the lives of others. For millions of Americans, this annual observance reflects and inspires that spirit of service in meaningful, lasting ways.”
A national effort takes root in Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City is one of the initiative’s anchor cities.
The local event will bring together employees from area companies and community volunteers for a high-energy meal-packing effort designed to turn remembrance into something tangible: food that will reach Utahns who need it.
That connection between September 11 and service has been intentional since the earliest days following the attacks.
In 2009, 9/11 Day helped establish September 11 as a federally recognized National Day of Service and Remembrance. The organization’s goal is to honor those who died or were injured, survivors, first responders, recovery workers, military personnel and the millions of people who stepped forward to help in the aftermath.
A Utah tradition of remembrance and service
For Utah, that history is especially relevant.
Utah has a long history of turning remembrance of Sept. 11 into moments of unity. On the evening of the attacks, a scheduled Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert at the Salt Lake Tabernacle became a memorial service. President Gordon B. Hinckley addressed those gathered, and the choir and orchestra performed patriotic and spiritual music. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints documented the service as part of its response to the attacks.
Five months later, the 2002 Winter Olympics opened in Salt Lake City with another powerful reminder of the attacks. Eight U.S. athletes, accompanied by New York police officers and firefighters, carried a large, tattered American flag that had flown at the World Trade Center into Rice-Eccles Stadium. The flag was too fragile to be flown, but its presence was followed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing the national anthem.
Twenty-five years later, Utah is continuing that tradition by turning the anniversary into an opportunity to serve its neighbors.
The state was thousands of miles from New York and Washington, D.C., but the effects of 9/11 were felt immediately here. The Utah National Guard’s account of its response to the September 11 attacks says the Guard received its first tasking just hours after the attacks, when the FBI requested assistance translating incoming intelligence.
Just weeks later, on Sept. 25, 2001, soldiers from the 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne) began providing increased security at Salt Lake International Airport as part of Operation Noble Eagle.
The airport security mission lasted nine months. During that time, Utah Guard members helped restore public confidence in air travel while remaining alert to potential threats. One Utah soldier’s report of suspicious activity at the airport ultimately contributed to the arrest of three people on an FBI watch list, according to the Utah National Guard’s historical account.
The response did not end there.
Since 9/11, more than 17,000 Utah National Guard members have been activated and deployed for worldwide missions, according to the Utah National Guard.
But Utah’s response to 9/11 reached far beyond military service.
The attacks prompted an outpouring of charitable and community support across the state, reflecting a broader national response that organizers of 9/11 Day now hope to revive for a new generation.
A quarter-century later, that spirit will take a practical form at the Huntsman Center.
The 168,000 meals expected to be packed in Salt Lake City will be distributed through the Utah Food Bank, connecting the national anniversary effort directly to a pressing need in Utah communities.
The Utah Food Bank works through a statewide network of food pantries, shelters and other partner agencies to provide food to Utahns facing hunger. Its work means the meals packed on September 11 won’t simply represent a symbolic gesture. They will become food available to families throughout the state.
That is the larger idea behind the 9/11 Day initiative: remembrance expressed through action.
It is also an opportunity to introduce a younger generation to an anniversary that is increasingly distant from their own memories. According to 9/11 Day, more than 100 million Americans alive today are too young to remember the attacks firsthand.
For those Americans, September 11 is history rather than lived experience.
The organizers’ challenge is to preserve not only the memory of what happened that day, but also the extraordinary sense of unity and service that followed.
In Salt Lake City, that lesson will be demonstrated rather than simply discussed.
Volunteers will spend September 11 working side by side, packing meals that will eventually reach Utah families. The work won’t erase the tragedy of 25 years ago, but it can provide a meaningful way to honor those who were lost and those who responded.
Twenty-five years after Americans were reminded how quickly ordinary life can change, Utah’s response will be a simple one: show up, work together and help a neighbor.
It is, in many ways, what Paine means when he says 9/11 Day wants to “reclaim the day.”
How to volunteer
A limited number of volunteers can currently register for the Salt Lake City event’s Event Support Team. Volunteers must be at least 18 years old and can sign up for the Friday, Sept. 11, shift from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Jon M. Huntsman Center, 1825 S. Campus Drive, Salt Lake City. No previous experience is required, and volunteers will be trained on site. Event-support roles include checking in participants, keeping packing lines supplied, moving boxes and pallets, and helping keep the event running smoothly.
The official 9/11 Day volunteer listing says volunteers should plan on a minimum four-hour commitment. Depending on the event’s needs, support-team volunteers may also have an opportunity to pack meals, although that is not guaranteed.
People who specifically want to pack meals should check the volunteer page for updates, as a limited number of general meal-packing spots may become available closer to the event.
For more information about the national 25th-anniversary initiative, visit 9/11 Day. To register for the Salt Lake City Event Support Team, visit the official 9/11 Day volunteer page.
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