Approximately 300 members of the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors (NEFAR) packed nearly 75,000 meals for hungry children, seniors and families in Northeast Florida during the NEFAR Charitable Foundation’s Hunger Fight Pack-a-Thon on Dec. 1.
The event was held in the ballroom of the Adam W. Herbert University Center at the University of North Florida.
The event was funded with a $25,000 donation to Hunger Fight from the NEFAR Charitable Foundation. In addition to the 74,256 meals the Realtors bagged up and boxed for Hunger Fight, the donation also covered a gift of 2,545 books for preschoolers that will be part of the nonprofit’s efforts to combat illiteracy in the region.
“Hunger Fight is one of our members’ favorite annual events,” said association President Missi Howell. “Realtors know that communities are more than houses, and making sure our area children have nutritious food when they are not in school is just one of the ways we love to give back.”
The event in 2021 marks the fourth time the association has contributed to Hunger Fight through a Pack-a-Thon event and the first time it has contributed to Hunger Fight’s new Feed-the-Need-to-Read program, which now runs in conjunction with its Feed-the-Backpack program.
The backpack program provides nutritious meals to Title I elementary school children and their families, while the new reading program provides colorful, age-appropriate books to underserved preschoolers in daycare centers throughout the region.
“Hunger Fight is all about giving back to those who are not as fortunate as us,” said association President-elect Mark Rosener. “Sometimes those folks are in a temporary situation or, for some, it is long-range, but the point of the matter is that we are impacting peoples’ lives and providing nourishment and food and one of the basic human needs. And for us to get together as a Realtor group and make that impact is really cool. Human beings for the most part always feel better when they are doing something for others, and Realtors do that every day. But to be able to do it in that big a way, as a group collectively, is a big deal.”
