U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar praised the generosity of Hoosiers for donating nearly 138 tons of food to the Hoosiers Fighting Hunger statewide food drive benefiting Indiana food banks.
“Donating more than 4.5 tons per day, thousands of Hoosiers answered the call and, together, we collected 275,402 pounds of food for our state’s food banks in September. This level of generosity puts new emphasis on National Hunger Action Month and will help stock the shelves ahead of the holiday season,” Lugar said. “I deeply appreciate Kroger, Marsh and Walmart partnering for the first time in this food drive. In visits to each of the stores last month, I witnessed Hoosiers’ generous spirit exemplified in the large stacks of food ready for the local food bank.”
The Hoosiers Fighting Hunger food drive came about when Lugar heard from food banks across the state that demand had increased more than 30 percent over last year. In response, Lugar reached out to Kroger, Marsh and Walmart and asked them to partner, for the first time, in a statewide food drive. Setting aside competitive instincts, stores across the state set up Hoosiers Fighting Hunger displays with pre-bagged food items for purchase at the $3, $5 and $10 levels.
“We appreciate the commitment Sen. Lugar has made to help fill the shelves of our state’s food banks,” said John Etling, President of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry. “The generous donations by Hoosiers statewide represent more than 215,000 meals for Hoosiers in need.”
For additional information on the food drive, please visit http://lugar.senate.gov/food/.
