Liberty University’s ROTC program fundraises for local food bank

Cadets within Liberty’s Army ROTC program will partner with Park View Community Mission in Lynchburg for an event known as “Rucking for a Reason” April 27.  According to Command Sgt. Maj. Joe Barr, cadets participate in ten “ruck” marches per year, but he hopes to use this upcoming march to make a difference. 

During ruck marches, cadets typically fill their sacks with over 30 pounds of weight and hike about four miles. While cadets normally fill their sacks with heavy books, Barr and the CFC thought about the possibility of collecting donations and filling their rucksacks with items that could make a difference. This inspired “Rucking for a Reason.” 

“I was thinking wouldn’t it be cool if we actually did something where we walked, and whatever was in our backpacks was actually going to help someone,” Barr said. “… Normally, we fill our rucksacks with just like textbooks and stuff, and so I (thought) why don’t we do it with something meaningful?” 

According to The News & Advance, 18.2 percent of Lynchburg citizens are food insecure, meaning they do not have access to enough food to live healthy, active lives. To help individuals who do not have adequate access to food, the cadets will be collecting food donations from a number of food bins in on- and off-campus locations such as the Jerry Falwell Library, Montview Student Union, LaHaye Student Union, Walmart on Wards Road, the American Legion Post 16 and Thomas Road Baptist Church. Items needed include both food items and hygiene items. Donations will be collected through April 26.

The event will begin in the Baseball Stadium Parking Lot at 8 a.m. Participants will ruck the donations for 3.5 miles to Park View Community Mission and then travel back to school in vehicles. The event is open for cadets and students. 

According to Cadet Owen Hewitt, the ROTC program is hoping to organize the food drive with the goals of raising awareness about food insecurity in Lynchburg, providing donations to Park View Community Mission and giving students a glimpse of the Army ROTC program at Liberty. While Hewitt, Barr and the other cadets know that one food drive will not solve the problem of hunger in Lynchburg, they look forward to doing what they can to help. 

“I think we all have an understanding that (the food drive) is not going to solve the problem of hunger, but it’s more of a thing of what can we do to help right now,”
Barr said. 

Park View Community Mission exists to build relationships with members of the community and serve people by providing resources. Park View provides a number of services, including food programs, health services and family and child services. The donations collected from “Rucking for a Reason” will be donated to Park View’s food pantry. 

Director of the Food for Families Program Rachel Koenig oversees operations with food services, including the food pantry. Every Thursday and Saturday, individuals in the community are welcome to enter the food pantry and select goods. Koenig said allowing individuals to select their own groceries wastes less food and gives individuals autonomy in choosing their own food. 

“The heart behind it is really just providing opportunities for people to take advantage of these resources that are available to them, but also still giving them a sense of pride and respect and dignity in freedom in choosing those things,” Koenig said. 

According to Koenig, the food pantry serves an average of 75 people every Thursday and Saturday, which translates to about 700-800 families per month. Park View receives donations from a number of places and gathers supplies through partnerships with Walmart, Sam’s Club, Kroger, Food Lion and the Blue Ridge Area food bank. A large part of the mission’s supplies come from individual and group donations as well. 

The supplies collected by the ROTC will stock the food pantry and will raise awareness about poverty in Lynchburg, according to Koenig.

“For them to be marching the food to us is really just huge in raising awareness not only for Park View and what we’re able to provide, but really just for the need that’s in our community,” Koenig said. “I think that a lot of people don’t recognize how much of a (hardship) there is for a lot of families that are just struggling financially (and) resourcefully.”  

For students interested in attending this event, registration is open at ruckforareason.com.