Food shuttle volunteer honored with 15 tons of chicken

Raleigh, N.C. — Inter-Faith Food Shuttle volunteer Ann Bumgardner was given the Tyson Hunger All-Star award on Tuesday.  It garners a donation of more than 15 tons of chicken and other protein products from Tyson Foods Inc.

“I feel a real calling to help people who are in need,” Bumgardner said.

Bumgardner, 78, has volunteered with the food shuttle for more than 15 years and has overseen collections of perishable foods from the State Farmers Market for the past decade.

She spends about four hours a day at the Farmer's Market.

“I do the whole market. It consists of the wholesalers, retailers, truckers and farmers,” Bumgardner said.

The Farmers Market is the organization's single largest donor, providing more than 1.5 million pounds of food annually.

"Ann's dedication to the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle is inspiring," Ed Nicholson, director of community relations for Tyson Foods, said in a statement. "If each local community had volunteers who gave a fraction of what the Ann has for our nation's hungry, I believe we could win in the fight against hunger in this country."

“They should get the credit," Bumgardner said of being given the Tyson Hunger All-Star honor. "They give it (food) to me. They don't throw it away. They think of me."

The Inter Faith Food Shuttle serves thousands of people every day, in seven counties.

"Protein is an important part of a nutritious meal. (The) donation from Tyson will provide hundreds of families that we serve with much needed protein," Jill Staton Bullard, president of the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, said in the statement. "Ann has brought meals and hope to thousands in our community, and we are honored to accept this donation in her name."

The Inter-Faith Food Shuttle provides meals to more than 3,000 people in Raleigh each week by collecting and distributing food that is too perishable to bank, but still nourishing and safe.