Some records are broken, and some records are demolished!

The Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board has announced the results of its fifth annual Freedom from Hunger Food Drive, which wrapped up Sept. 30. The agency “shattered” its previous record by collecting 11,337 pounds of food to help feed some of the 80,000 Montgomery County residents who are food insecure and raise awareness about the issue.

The food and monetary donations received during the three-week drive, benefits the MontCo Anti-Hunger Network (MAHN), a coalition of hunger relief organizations working together to make healthy foods available to all communities in Montgomery County.

The total amount collected was nearly double this year’s goal of 6,000 pounds of food for the drive that ran from Sept 9 through Sept. 30. More than 25,000 pounds of food have been collected over a five year period.

“We made a promise in 2015 to serve our neighbors in need and I’m incredibly grateful to our members and partners who helped us exceed our goal for contributions this and every year since the drive began,” Mike Bowman, Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board president & CEO, said in a statement.

Food donations to the Freedom from Hunger Food Drive were dropped off at one of the 20 drop-off sites around the county. Monetary donations could also be made online.

At a rate of 23 cents per pound, the $1,818 dollars donated will be allow for the purchase of 7,904 pounds of food, in addition to the 2,933 pounds of food collected, according to the agency.

Another 500 pounds of food was purchased for a Sept. 13 event at Cecil & Grace Bean’s Soup Kitchen in Norristown.

As part of the kick-off of this year’s initiative, Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board employees joined with the Montgomery County Commissioners and students from the Montgomery County Community College Culinary Art Institute to prepare a meal for guests at the facility. That additional purchase was added to the total amount collected.

“We were very pleasantly surprised with the results,” said Paula Schafer, MontCo Anti-Hunger Network administrator in an interview with MediaNews Group.

Schafer said the biggest impact from the food drive has been what was generated through the online monetary donations.

“It allows us to purchase at a wholesale price, a very high demand item that the pantries need,” she said. “Last year, we did a huge egg distribution. It had such an impact because some of the pantries never get eggs. And they are so nutritionally dense and great to put in the hands of people. We were able to purchase a quantity that met each pantry’s need for distribution.”

Schafer added that the MontCo Anti-Hunger Network doesn’t yet know what this year’s large purchase will be, but added that the agency has buying power that gives it access to “some great deals” on an item some of its member pantries rarely see.

The tourism agency was also pleasantly surprised with the results, according to spokeswoman Rachel Riley.

Among some of the donations were canned goods collected during the PA Health Care Association conference held at the Valley Forge Casino Resort, which Riley said filled three cars.

Additional initiatives included a pair of “fests” held by Workhorse Brewing in King of Prussia in honor of its first anniversary. The brewery donated a portion of each ticket to the MontCo Anti-Hunger Network to help people learn about the ongoing food drive.

“We knew we were close to meeting, if not surpassing, our goal when we saw Workhorse’s monetary donations, along with the PA Health Care Association conference donations,” Riley added.

Schafer added that by partnering with the Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board, her agency is able to take its hunger awareness message to a much broader audience.

“Big problems like hunger can’t be managed by nonprofits alone and we’re thankful for the help of businesses and organizations that understand how community well-being is good for us all,” she said.

She added that food insecurity isn’t just limited to the holidays.

“Summertime is a point in the year when pantries are historically low on inventory. People are busy and maybe vacationing. Hunger never takes a vacation,” she added. Schafer offers some advice for those that may be considering a food drive: connect with whichever food pantry is nearby and find out what they need.

“We all want to do something useful and those gestures are most powerful when you can give something that is in demand,” she said.

The Freedom from Hunger Food Drive was established in 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 MontCo Anti-Hunger Network provides resources to food pantries that feed more than 15,000 households a year and serve the more than 80,000 people who are food insecure in Montgomery County.