Bucks County’s largest hunger-fighting effort, Bucks Knocks Out Hunger, brought together hundreds of volunteers to pack nutritious meals for local residents facing food insecurity in the Oxford Valley Mall.
Community members packed thousands of meals, donated tons of food and raised funds during the June 13 event, which was coordinated by United Way of Bucks County and presented by ACME. The totals were still being calculated Friday.
All of the donated and packaged food will go directly to Bucks County food pantries, senior centers and access programs to support the estimated 64,000 county residents who may not know where their next meal is coming from.
One in four families in Bucks County are considered ALICE — Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed — by the United Way.
Marissa Christie, president and chief executive officer of United Way Bucks County, said ALICE households often struggle to afford essentials like food, child care and housing, but they earn too much to qualify for most public assistance programs.
“ALICE [individuals] in our community are a lot of folks we rely on every day,” Christie said. “It’s folks who are frontline health workers, who work in our schools, who work in our restaurants and hospitality. They’re working hard, and sometimes just need a little bit of help to bridge the gap.”
BKO Hunger supports programs designed to increase access to nutritious food for ALICE households, including United Way’s HELP Center and free mobile farmer’s market Fresh Connect.
Lauren Barbir, a United Way of Bucks County board member, said she is grateful that many companies and individuals dedicated time during the workday to pack meals and ensure that residents across Bucks County have access to nutritious food.
“This is for people in all walks of life,” Barbir said. “This is children, this is adults, this is the elderly, this is our ALICE community, and I think that’s what’s both unique and unfortunate about food insecurity, is it doesn’t have a zip code. It doesn’t have an age. It affects all people.”
Barbir said the meals packed during BKO Hunger event will be especially important in the coming summer months to help feed children who normally rely on school meals.
Since the event is now in its 13th year, Christie said United Way of Bucks County has developed an efficient, streamlined process, which allowed the volunteers to pack the 100,000 meals in about four hours.
At the mall, the room was set up like an assembly line, and each volunteer was assigned a specific task. Volunteers poured ingredients, weighed portions, sealed meal bags and packed the bags in boxes to a DJ soundtrack of ‘80’s and 90’s hits.
Other volunteers circled around the tables with bullhorns and pompoms, starting cheers and dance breaks to keep energy up.
Monica Moody-Wrenn, the director of human resources at PECO, said she loved the energy and atmosphere so much that she lost track of time.
“I love the fact that we’re able to volunteer in the … communities that we serve,” Moody-Wrenn said. “We want customers to know us as more than the organization that they have to pay for the services, but rather that we have an appreciation for their presence in the community.”
Destiny Perales volunteered at the soup packing station.
She said volunteering at BKO Hunger with her church a few years ago was so impactful that she quickly signed up for an opportunity to volunteer through her job.
“It makes me really happy … having the opportunity to give and bring good energy and have fun while doing it, knowing that it’s for a good cause,” Perales said. “I’m delighted to be here and participate, but there’s so much more that needs to be done. So it makes me curious [about] what other events are happening, and any other organizations that might be doing something like this.”
Christie said she was inspired to see so many people unite around a common cause, especially during a time of increasing polarization. She said United Way of Bucks County could not support individuals facing difficult social issues, like food insecurity and financial instability, without support from its community.
“We understand that the environments in which we operate are complex and are challenging, and it can seem like there are more problems than solutions,” Christie said. “We each have to make the decision: do we go about our work and our lives feeling defeated or feeling energized? …
“Our donors care so much. Our board cares so much. 500 volunteers care so much that they’re giving up time to be part of the solution. And that’s energizing. … It feels like change is possible.”
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