The community rallied behind five local leaders to collect food that will be distributed to families in need through the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.
Tate Love, Tony Davenport, Christine Flory, Dr. Eric Irizarry and Pamela Snyder led the fundraising effort by encouraging friends and colleagues to sponsor them by donating food or funds.
The “Shop to Stop Hunger” event resulted in nearly 40,000 meals to help fight food insecurity in the region.
The fundraising event included a collection drive with bins in each participant’s name at the Kroger in Staunton. It concluded on Thursday with a 60-second sweep where each participant had 60 seconds to fill a cart with the most groceries.
Love took home the “Cart Away Hunger” trophy as the top fundraiser in the group.
In total, the event resulted in 38,234 meals.
“Events like this remind us of what’s possible when a community rallies around a shared mission,” said Kari Diener, CEO of BRAFB.
“The donations raised will provide immediate relief and a sense of hope for households living with hunger.”
Since 2013, Shop to Stop Hunger has provided more than 956,000 meals to people and families across the Blue Ridge region. With donations still coming in, the effort may officially reach the one million milestone in meals.
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