Freedom from Hunger Food Drive is underway
Tourism Board’s month-long event sets goal of collecting 25,000 pounds of food
UPPER MERION >> The Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board has kicked off its annual Freedom from Hunger Food Drive. Now in its seventh year, the drive raises awareness about hunger in Montgomery County.
The annual drive launched on Wednesday. Sept. 1 and will continue throughout the month of September.
As it did last year, the agency will conduct its Freedom from Hunger Food Drive completely online, raising funds — rather than by physically collecting food — in light of the continuing pandemic and spread of the Delta variant of the virus.
The goal for this year is to collect 25,000 pounds of food. In 2020, the effort collected just over 20,000 pounds of food.
To date, the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board’s drive has collected more than 45,000 pounds of food to feed the hungry in Montgomery County. Meeting this year’s goal will put that seven year result at 70,000 pounds of food.
According to Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board spokeswoman Rachel Riley, one pound of food can be purchased for about 23 cents. To meet the 25,000 pound goal, the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board would need to collect about $5,700.
As it has in the past, the agency is partnering the MontCo AntiHunger Network (MAHN), a coalition of hunger relief organizations working together to keep families stable with food assistance. The MontCo Anti-Hunger Network provides resources to food pantries that feed those who are food insecure in Montgomery County.
Unfortunately, the need for support for food insecure families in the county has not decreased. In fact, since the start of the pandemic, the numbers have gone up.
Pre-COVID, more than 28,566 households, and more than 60,000 individuals were served each year. Over the past year, those numbers have increased to more than 38,060 households and 84,000 individuals, according to the MontCo Anti-Hunger Network.
According to Paula Schafer, executive director of the MontCo Anti-Hunger Network, continued after effects from the pandemic still threaten the stability of “thousands” of households in Montgomery County.
“A lot of people — many with young children — lost their jobs, their homes, and aren’t bouncing back. Staying fed is a real challenge for them right now, and we can’t address the increase in demand without help,” Schafer said in a statement. “Some may struggle for a long time, or are at risk of never regaining stability. So, this drive is important for folks to have a future moving forward, too.”
In addition to an increase in the numbers of people served, the number of food pantries in the county has also increased in the last year, from 38 to 47.
According to Schafer, about 28 of those food pantries rely on donated food to supply distributions, which range from 1,200 pounds of food each month up to 100,000 pounds of food each month, which is what the largest distributing food pantry in Montgomery County, Catholic Social Services in Norristown distributes every month.
“Now, more than ever, we’re asking for everyone that is able to give anything they can because there are so many in need,” Mike Bowman, president & CEO of the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board, said in a statement. “As leaders, it’s our responsibility to take care of each other. These are our friends, our neighbors, our families, our children, and every dollar counts.”
The Freedom from Hunger Food Drive was established in 2015 as a farewell pledge to Pope Francis, who stayed in Montgomery County at the St. Charles Borromeo Seminary during the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.
Since then, Riley said the food drive has “exceeded our expectations” in terms of engagement and generosity from the community. She said the tourism board anticipated keeping the initiative going.
“And unfortunately, that need is not only still there, but continues to grow,” she said. “However, what is encouraging is that every time we’ve challenged the Montco community with increased goals each year, they’ve not only accepted and met that challenge, but exceeded it.”
She said the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board will continue to ask people to contribute, “until we stabilize food insecurity in this county,” adding that no single person or organization can solve hunger alone.
“But if one of us is suffering, we all are. It’s when we come together to help our neighbors, that’s how we will overcome this,” Riley added.
For more information about the MontCo Anti-Hunger Network, visit www.montcoantihunger.org/
To donate to the Valley Forge Freedom from Hunger Food Drive, visit www.valleyforge.org/ hunger/.
“A lot of people — many with young children — lost their jobs, their homes, and aren’t bouncing back. Staying fed is a real challenge for them right now, and we can’t address the increase in demand without help.”
Paula Schafer, executive director, MontCo Anti-Hunger Network