September 29, 2019–12:56 a.m.
NEWS RELEASE
The United Way of Rome/Floyd County’s Second Annual Floyd Fights Hunger event is set for Saturday, 26 October at Rome High School.
The event engages over 150 local volunteers in assembling shelf-stable meals to be distributed across Floyd County through Journey Food Pantry, Salvation Army Rome, and Action Ministries Rome.
The food comes from Meals of Hope, a nonprofit organization who develops meals specifically designed for the American palate with added vitamins, minerals and proteins to supplement an unbalanced diet.
“We packed 52,740 meals last year,” says Community Events Committee Chair, Kelsey Mitchell, “nearly 3,000 more than our set goal, and we had a great time! We are so excited to bring this event back to Unite our neighbors and friends to make a difference in Rome & Floyd County.”
This year, volunteers will pack 60,000 meals, thanks to the efforts of a 9 year old girl at Johnson Elementary.
Fourth grader Audrey Mitchell gave a speech about Floyd Fights Hunger during her campaign for student council representative.
Her speech, posted to social media, caught the attention of Steve Popper, Owner of Meals of Hope, who donated an additional 10,000 meals in honor of Audrey and Johnson Elementary.
“Our mission is to alleviate hunger, but a key point of what we do is give people the opportunity to learn about volunteerism and give back” says Steve. “The fact that Audrey has learned to serve others at such a young age is a real tribute to her and her parents. We want to give her the opportunity to bring this to her fellow students so they learn that giving back can be fun and can also impact their community.”
Local Rome musician and DJ, Kylie Devaron, donates his time and talent to provide music at the event.
United Way thanks this year’s sponsors: Rome Rotary, Keller Williams Realty, Hardy Realty, MSP Attorneys, Profile Custom Extrusion and Floyd Medical Center.