The line of pickup trucks stretched back as far as the eye could see.
A caravan of vehicles carrying thousands of pounds of food processed into the large, spacious parking lot on Pattison Avenue in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex last week.
Then suddenly it became a bit cramped. But that was viewed as a good thing in the eyes of those involved in pulling off a large fundraising event for local underprivileged families.
“It’s great,” said Glenn Bergman, executive director of Philabundance. “You can’t be anything but happy about this. I think that the amount of planning that goes into this and to watch the execution of it is really great.”
The growing annual effort, known as the Toyota Tundra Food Drive, caused quite a stir throughout the streets of South Philadelphia as the convoy honked horns, waved and spread holiday cheer to citizens along the streets. Their mission was to deliver approximately 450,000 pounds of neatly packaged food to Philabundance, which will serve as a food hub for residents who need it during the holiday season. And it took more than 80 pickup trucks to get it all there.
It’s the largest food donation received by Philabundance during the drive’s 13-year history and it was a 25-percent increase from last year.
“Thirteen years ago, it started with a couple of trucks, now it’s about 80,” Bergman said. “It just keeps getting bigger and bigger every year.”
The event actually expanded to the much larger Parking Lot P, adjacent to Citizens Bank Park along Pattison Avenue several years ago, as the drive demanded more space. Every inch was utilized this year as members of the International Union of Operating Engineers volunteered to unload the pallets of food from the trucks and load them into Philabundance tractor trailers.
The Philadelphia Carpenters Union #158 donated time to set up the festivities outside Citizens Bank Park. The hefty collaboration aims to help families in need across nine counties in the Philadelphia area.
“It’s just unconscionable to think that so many people in our communities are in need of food, and Philabundance is a major lifeline to those who are food insecure in our communities,” said Paul Muller, president of the Tri-State Toyota Dealers Association. “There are a lot of things people should be, and hungry is just not one of them. That’s what makes it so important for us to stay involved to help drive hunger away from every table in our local communities.”
The food for this year’s drive was purchased through donations made by the Tri-State Toyota Dealers Association. The association is comprised of 25 dealerships in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, and more than 30 of the Dealers’ business partners, including media outlets, outdoor companies and Philadelphia’s professional sports organizations.
Representatives and mascots from Philly’s local sports teams were on hand to cheer on workers and volunteers.
“All the money raised here goes into buying food,” Bergman said. “It doesn’t go to operating costs or salaries. Every penny we collect goes into a line item for buying food.”
Bergman said Philabundance helps people in poverty but also aims to aid people slightly above the poverty line who are ineligible to receive additional help like welfare.
“You can be food insecure but not in poverty,” he said, “About 60 percent of the people we serve (have) someone in the house working. For the most part, the people we are serving here are people that are working.”
According to Philabundance, about one in eight people suffer from food insecurity in the United States. In Philadelphia, the number is one in five. Philabundance aims to change those statistics by helping to feed the hungry.
“In South Philadelphia, there are about 10 to 15 agencies across the South end of town,” Bergman said. “They can come and collect it. They can come to our warehouse or we can bring it to them, depending on how big they are and they can give it out.”
For hunger relief, visit www.philabundance.org. For those seeking food assistance immediately, call 1-800-5-HUNGRY or visit Philabundance’s website: www.philabundance.org/find-food/.
