About 82,000 households in Maricopa County experience chronic hunger—meaning they may not know where their next meal will come from. School breakfast and lunch programs help provide a reliable source of food during the week, but many are left without regular meals during weekends.

AAA Arizona employees and members volunteered on Aug. 8 to fill more than 500 food bags that provide weekend meals for needy children, which are distributed through the Valley of the Sun United Way partner schools in Phoenix (photo by Sharon Price).

AAA Arizona employees and members volunteered on Aug. 8 to fill more than 500 food bags that provide weekend meals for needy children, which are distributed through the Valley of the Sun United Way partner schools in Phoenix (photo by Sharon Price).

AAA Arizona invited its members and staff to help mitigate this issue on Aug. 8 at its first Pack Away Hunger event, held at the Valley of the Sun United Way offices at 1635 E. Indian School Road.

AAA Arizona employees and member volunteers assembled more than 500 much-needed food bags. The bags, called WeekEND Hunger Backpacks, are distributed to seven United Way partner schools in Phoenix each week. The food bags provide weekend meals to help nourish children during this vulnerable time, which allows kids to return to school Monday ready to learn.

Volunteers also assembled more than 1,000 snack packs to be distributed at United Way’s Project Connect, a one-day outreach event that brings together more than 30 human service providers in a central location to help people experiencing homelessness or on the brink of it take that next step toward stability and independence.

“AAA was founded on the mission of helping people, and has had a longstanding relationship with Valley of the Sun United Way,” said Mike Tully, president and CEO of AAA Arizona. “We’re proud to support this event and would love to engage our members in becoming involved in our efforts to help eliminate hunger and help youth succeed in our communities.”

The AAA Serves program demonstrates AAA’s commitment to making a positive impact in the community in several ways including hands-on service, in-kind donations and charitable giving. For more information, visit AAA.com/AAAServes.

 

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