Recent statistics from Feeding America’s “Map the Meal Gap” indicate nearly 87,000 residents in Tippecanoe and surrounding counties are food insecure.
Roughly 30,000 of those individuals are children.
An effort by Food Finders Food Bank is helping provide meals to the hungry in the area.
The second annual Drive Away Hunger campaign collected more than 170,000 meals.
That exceeds the original goal by about 20,000 meals.
Food Finders officials say they are grateful for the donations from local businesses, places of worship, schools, and individuals.
They are reminding the public that hunger is not a seasonal problem and are encouraging residents to give year-round to combat food insecurity.