Freedom from Hunger Awards '07
The 5th Annual Freedom from Hunger Awards Ceremony was held August 30th at the HACAP Food Reservoir. HACAP received ‘Honorable Mention” in the most pounds overall category (2,176 pounds)
48 area companies or organizations participated in or supported the drive, which raised 84,972 pounds of food (42.48 tons). The drive took place at area businesses during late June, July, and early August and also included food drop-offs at Cedar Rapids Kernels games and at the Freedom Festival’s “Freedom Rocks” Concert during that period. Last year the food drive raised 66,658 pounds.
In Linn County, nearly 3,000 households seek emergency food assistance each month. The Freedom from Hunger effort is directed at fighting hunger during the summer months when demand peaks and supplies dwindle. 35 Linn County food assistance programs received a portion of the food collected.
BankIowa, Linn County Supervisors Witwer Trust, Area Veterans, Cedar Rapids Kernels, HACAP Food Reservoir, KCRG TV-9/Show You Care Sponsors, Linn County Continuum of Care Planning and Policy Council, Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival and United Way of East Central Iowa teamed up to sponsor and support this year’s food challenge.
Over its 5 year history, Freedom from Hunger has generated 123.67 tons or nearly a quarter of a million (247,354) pounds of food for area food assistance programs.