Triangle workers take part in food bank 'Sort-A-Rama'

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Some leading businesses in the Triangle are ditching the office and rolling up their sleeves to help feed the needy.

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It's the fifth annual Sort-A-Rama, taking place at the NC State Fairgrounds, and it's a chance for the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina to get a helping hand packaging meals for those living with hunger.

It's an impressive production, with a goal of packaging 175,000 meals. More than 1,000 volunteers helped sort bulk-sized bins and packaging family-sized portions as well as packing healthy snack bags.

Sort-A-Rama also marks the beginning of the "Stop Summer Hunger" campaign which aims to provide millions of meals to area children during the months of June and July.

"There are 300,000 children in our 34-county service area who rely on school provided lunch and breakfast. And of course when school is out that safety net has been removed," explained Peter Werbicki, Pres./CEO Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC.

Sort-A-Rama partners include:

• BASF
• Blue Cross and BlueShield of North Carolina (BCBSNC)
• Cisco
• Food Lion
• Allscripts
• Dude Solutions
• NetApp
• RTI International
• Duke Energy
• IBM
• Coca-Cola
• Bank of America
• Nationwide
• Delta Air Lines
• PPD
• Research Triangle Foundation
• UNC Rex Healthcare
• Crown Lift Trucks
• Panera Bread