HACAP’s 20th annual Freedom from Hunger food, fund drive starts today

CEDAR RAPIDS — HACAP Food Reservoir’s 20th Annual Eastern Iowa Freedom from Hunger Food & Fund Drive will kick off today and run through the end of September, collecting donations both online and in person for the nearly 40,000 in the community who struggle with food security.

This year, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the event, a goal has been set to provide 200,000 meals to hungry Eastern Iowans. Said Kim Guardado, HACAP Food Reservoir director: “This is a true grassroots effort to help feed our community. This event started 20 years ago to help increase the amount of food available during the summer months when many children are home for the summer school break. This year, the event is even more important as families face rising transportation and food costs, making access to enough affordable food hard.”

In the past 20 years, Eastern Iowa Freedom from Hunger has collected over 2.5 million pounds of food, which has provided 2.1 million meals to neighbors in the community over this period of time.

Businesses, community organizations, faith communities and individuals are invited to join this year's event by holding a food and fund drive during June through September. Groups can participate in three different ways: a virtual funds drive, a virtual food drive, or a traditional food and fund drive. You can find details for participating at hacap.org/freedomfromhunger.