Valley Forge Tourism Board kicks off annual food drive

Freedom from Hunger Food Drive goal is to collect 40,000 pounds of food

UPPER MERION >> The Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board has kicked off its annual Freedom from Hunger Food Drive. This is the eighth year for the drive, which was started to raise awareness about hunger in Montgomery County.

The goal for this year’s fundraiser is to collect 40,000 pounds of food to support local food pantries and soup kitchens struggling to feed more in the community with fewer funds, according to a press release announcing this year’s initiative.

For the third year, the drive is being held exclusively online, rather than by physically collecting food, and will continue through Oct. 31.

In 2021, the effort raised $6,902 — the equivalent of more than 30,000 pounds of food — surpassing the agency’s goal of 25,000 pounds of food for last year’s initiative.

The Freedom from Hunger

Food Drive was launched 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. The event has grown each year and has raised enough for more than 75,000 pounds of food to feed the hungry across the county.

This year’s event officially kicked-off on Sept. 9 at the Norristown Hospitality Center, 530 Church St. Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board staff and President & CEO Mike Bowman — a former executive chef — were joined by Montgomery County Community College Chefs Joe Jacques and Mark Bellini, MCCC Director of Hospitality Karima Roepel, and Hospitality Coordinator Kristina Montone, as well as Montgomery County Commissioner Ken Lawrence.

“We’re asking for everyone that is able — including other businesses — to step up and give anything they can because there are so many in need,” Bowman 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.”

As it has in past years, the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board is partnering with the MontCo Anti-Hunger Network (MAHN), a coalition of hunger relief organizations working together to keep families stable with food assistance. MAHN provides resources to nearly 70 food pantries and soup kitchens that feed those who are food insecure in Montgomery County.

“When budgets are strained, grocery expenses are the first to be cut. A lot of people — seniors, families with children, and young adults — are coming to food pantries for the first time,” Amanda Musselman, executive director of MAHN, said in a statement. “They are working, but their dollar doesn’t go as far as it used to. We feel that same strain at MAHN when we go to purchase wholesale food or fuel our trucks to support our food resource network.”

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. The pantries and soup kitchens in Montgomery County have reported an increase in need.