Harvest Feast 2024: A Community Comes Together to Fight Hunger

According to Capital Area Food Bank, a startling 50 percent of all households in Prince George’s County, Maryland struggle with food insecurity. In response to this ongoing challenge, the Washington Commanders Foundation continued its 22-year-old tradition of Harvest Feast. With donations from corporate sponsors, local partners, and muscle from community volunteers, the event would provide Thanksgiving Day meals to over 2500 households—enough to serve 10,000 PG County residents.

Demonstrating our commitment to hyperlocal initiatives and supporting communities in need, the LINK team threw on their sneakers and headed to Northwest Stadium on a surprisingly warm couple of days, enthusiastically and purposefully joining 200 volunteers.

The LINK Team spent the first day of Harvest Feast walking, lifting, and shifting. The sense of community and camaraderie was palpable. When the day ended, LINK Associate Oliver Trigony reflected, “It was an assembly line—a relatively simple task that added up. I saw the result of our work, and it was good.”

On the second day of Harvest Feast, Team LINK and other volunteers returned to distribute bags and carry them to recipients' cars. At LINK, building community means moving from mere proximity to genuine interactions, so we were all in when iHeart radio pumped out high-energy tunes, inspiring several dance breaks between volunteers and recipients. LINK Associate Tariq Gaston commented, “The core strength of the community was at the event, and that was the foundation of the unity.”

Harvest Feast was a well-orchestrated event thanks to the generosity of its many partners. The event was sponsored by the Washington Commanders Foundation, Clark Construction, and Bank of America. Prince George’s County Social Services identified recipients, and Pepsi, Northwest Federal Credit Union, and Capital Area Food Bank all donated food and drinks. 

At LINK, our work emanates from our belief that the most extraordinary acts are those in the service of others, which is why we were honored to be a part of two impactful days. The Harvest Feast is a testament to how, through collaboration and compassion, we can combat hunger, unite people, and celebrate the community's power.

This holiday season, join the fight against hunger in the Greater Washington Area by registering here: https://www.capitalareafoodbank.org/