Fidelity Boosts #HungerActionMonth Efforts with Critical Support

September is Hunger Action Month – a nationwide effort to meet our worsening hunger crisis head-on – and our friends at Fidelity Investments came through again this year with critical volunteer support! 

Volunteers are the heart of our work. In a single shift, a volunteer can sort and package 160 meals for local families. So when 130 Fidelity volunteers took over our distribution centers in Durham and Raleigh, their efforts provided enough fresh produce to fuel more than 100,000 meals in our community. 

With the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables out of reach for far too many families, Fidelity’s support couldn’t come at a more important time. Neighbors increasingly rely on nutritious meals provided through our network to manage health conditions, save money for needed medicine, and provide dinner for children and seniors in their care. Through financial contributions and volunteering, the Fidelity team is helping families access fresh food faster, ensuring everyone can succeed and thrive.  

With support from partners like Fidelity, takeovers are our largest volunteer events – and you can see the incredible impact in real time. Just one takeover day can sort more meals than a week of smaller volunteer shifts. Our Volunteer Team knows the impact of corporate takeovers, and they plan produce and spacing to make sure every volunteer feels welcome. 

“I love takeover events because you bring people together and build unity. It’s great for companies like Fidelity to bring their teams here – they’re enjoying themselves, they’re having a good time, laughing and listening to music. Takeovers bring awareness of what we do here. People love doing this... and that’s how we keep volunteers coming back.”  

– Tony Edwards, Longtime Food Bank Volunteer Coordinator

Right now, more than 607,000 people in central and eastern North Carolina are food insecure. Families are struggling to make ends meet due to increased food and housing costs, coupled with the sunset of federal support tied to pandemic-era government funding. With more cuts to safety nets on the horizon, more and more neighbors are turning to our network of 700+ local pantries and no-cost meal sites to keep food on the table – making support from community pillars like Fidelity is all the more important. 

Our special thanks go to Community Relations Coordinator Danita King and the Fidelity leadership team for making this “takeover” event possible. In the past few years alone, Fidelity has provided more than 3.2 million meals as a part of their commitment to nourish our communities, and we couldn’t do this work without their generous support. 

"Fidelity understands the intersection of the many layers contributing to a full and healthy lifestyle. Through our passion for financial and physical health, we are proud to partner with the Food Bank during Hunger Action Month sharing the message that no one should have to make an impossible choice between rent or medicine and food."

– Danita King, Fidelity Community Relations Coordinator

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