People in need in Durham County, North Carolina, are the beneficiaries of a recent world record.
Nearly 560,000 pounds of food was collected in one day on Saturday, 5 March 2011, with the help of many community organizations, including local members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The world record eclipsed an earlier record reached last year in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, of 509,000 pounds of food collected by Latter-day Saints.
“We really admire the effort of the North Carolina School of Science and Math to do something significant for people in need,” said Harry Maxwell, local Church leader in Southern Wake County. “This particular project is one that really required multiple community partners and many individual contributions.”
Congressman David Price of North Carolina, on hand to show his support for the food drive, said one of the most important motivations for this kind of social action is faith. “For The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to do this kind of outreach is a tangible expression of faith and commitment and is a great example and inspiration to the rest of the community.”
The food donation could not come at a better time, according to Charlie Hale, Central and Eastern North Carolina Food Bank vice president. “This world record donation represents more than 40% of the food we receive from food drives annually.”
See pictures from the food drive on Flickr, and read the story in the newsobserver.com.
