RALEIGH, N.C., May 12, 2015 – The Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina (FBCENC), a nonprofit organization providing food for people at risk of hunger in 34 counties in central and eastern North Carolina, has announced that it has partnered with Triangle companies for the fourth annual Sort-A-Rama event. On this day, more than 900 corporate volunteers will unite to sort and package more than 170,000 meals for local families living with food insecurity. The event will take place on Thursday, May 21 beginning at 9 a.m. at the Jim Graham Building on the North Carolina State Fairgrounds, located at 1025 Blue Ridge Road.

Sort-A-Rama is FBCENC’s signature annual volunteer event. This year, it marks the beginning of the organization’s eighth annual Stop Summer Hunger Campaign, which aims to provide 3.2 million meals to area children during June and July – a time when school cafeterias are closed and children who rely on the free and reduced meal program often go hungry.

The presenting partners for the 2015 Sort-A-Rama are BASF, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC), Cisco and Food Lion. Additional sponsors include Allscripts, Dude Solutions, Gregory Poole Equipment, Extreme Networks, PPD, RTI International, Coca-Cola, Duke Energy, Fifth Third Bank, Research Triangle Foundation, and Tupelo Honey Café.

For more information about the 2015 Sort-A-Rama, please visit http://bit.ly/1bPLwNo.

QUOTES:

“Each year, Sort-A-Rama presents the perfect opportunity for Triangle employees, customers and community groups to join together for a meaningful service and teambuilding event that will directly impact the lives of those dealing with hunger in our local community,” said Peter Werbicki, Food Bank President & CEO. “We are excited to kick start our Stop Summer Hunger campaign in this way, and we look forward to meeting our goal of packaging 170,000 meals through the generous support of our company partners.”

“Sort-A-Rama raises awareness about access in our state to nutritious food, which is necessary to live an active, healthy and productive life,” said Barbara Morales Burke, Vice President of Health Policy and Chief Compliance Officer at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina. “We’re proud to come together with others as community leaders to build a healthier North Carolina by providing fellow North Carolinians who are in need with food to feed their families.“

“Cisco has been a proud partner of the Food Bank for nearly 20 years, giving our time, technology and monetary investments,” said Ed Paradise, RTP Site Executive for Cisco. “Events like this allow our company’s greatest asset to shine, our people. Cisco employees volunteered over 2,700 hours with the Food Bank last year alone. We are very proud of how our employees support their community.”

"At Food Lion, we believe that no one should have to choose between dinner and rent or gasoline and buying groceries," said Troy Leshko, vice president of Food Lion's Mid-Atlantic division. "That's why we're so passionate about working with partners like the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina to end hunger in our local communities through Food Lion Feeds. Events like Sort-A-Rama provide a meaningful way for our associates to directly engage in helping to feed those in our community who need a helping hand. Whether it's in a Food Lion store, at Sort-a-Rama or anywhere in our community, we want Raleigh to know: you can count on your local Food Lion team."

"At BASF we are passionate about helping farmers produce enough food to feed our hungry population. In 2050, there will be 9.3 billion people in the world. The agriculture industry will need new innovations and solutions to feed this growing world population, which is why BASF invests over $1.5 million per day into research and development,” said BASF Senior Vice President Paul Rea. “In addition to food production, we are committed to volunteering our time and resources to help those who are struggling with food insecurity throughout the country and here in North Carolina. This is especially important for children and families during the summer months when kids do not have access to free and reduced-cost meals at school."

NEW MEDIA CONTENT:

FBCENC on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/FoodBankCENC

FBCENC on Twitter

https://twitter.com/FoodBankCENC

FBCENC on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/user/foodbankcenc

FBCENC on Flickr

https://www.flickr.com/photos/foodbankcenc/with/16702724477/

ABOUT THE FOOD BANK OF CENTRAL & EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA:

The Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina (FBCENC) is a nonprofit organization that has provided food for people at risk of hunger in 34 counties in central and eastern North Carolina for more than 30 years. The Food Bank serves a network of more than 800 partner agencies such as soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, and programs for children and adults through distribution centers in Durham, Greenville, New Bern, Raleigh, the Sandhills (Southern Pines), and Wilmington. In fiscal year 2013-2014, the Food Bank distributed more than 53 million pounds of food and non-food essentials through these agencies. Sadly, hunger remains a serious problem in central and eastern North Carolina. In these counties, more than 651,000 people struggle to access nutritious and adequate amounts of food necessary for an active and healthy life. www.foodbankcenc.org.

ABOUT FOOD LION:

Food Lion, based in Salisbury, N.C., since 1957, has more than 1,100 stores in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states and employs more than 63,000 associates. By leveraging its longstanding heritage of low prices and convenient locations, Food Lion is working to own the easiest full shop grocery experience in the Southeast, anchored by a strong commitment to affordability, freshness and the communities it serves. Through Food Lion Feeds, the company has committed to provide 500 million meals to individuals and families in need by the end of 2020. Food Lion is a company of Delhaize America, the U.S. division of Brussels-based Delhaize Group. For more information, visit www.foodlion.com.

ABOUT BCBSNC:

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina improves the health and well-being of our customers and communities by providing innovative health care products, services and information to more than 3.91 million members, including approximately 1 million served on behalf of other Blue Plans. Since 1933, we have worked to make North Carolina a better place to live through our support of community organizations, programs and events that promote good health. We have been recognized as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere Institute every year since 2012. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Visit BCBSNC online at bcbsnc.com. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

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