Toyota And Philabundance Haul Away Hunger With Philadelphia Food Drive

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- How much food can you fit in the bed of a Toyota Tundra? How many Tundras does it take to deliver 70,000 meals? We're about to find out at noon this Friday, thanks to the Tri-State Toyota Dealers' annual "Toyota Tundra Food Drive" for Philabundance, the region's largest hunger relief organization.

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As part of the Tri-State Toyota Dealers' seventh annual food donation to Philabundance, they are partnering with 20 Philadelphia-area organizations to deliver more than 35 tons of nonperishable food in a convoy of 48 Toyota Tundras that will, quite literally, "haul away hunger."

"We want to thank all of our generous partners for not only helping us achieve our 2013 goal to double our donation year-over-year, but for helping us to more than triple the amount of food we're providing," said Tri-State TDA President Paul Muller, Jr. "It's staggering when you hear how many people in the Delaware Valley are relying on organizations such as Philabundance just to get a warm meal. We've committed ourselves to help lead the charge in feeding the community, and hope to do so for years to come."

Having donated 22,000 pounds of food to Philabundance in December 2012, Toyota and its Dealers have started a tradition. This year, Toyota has 20 partners on board including local broadcast media and Philadelphia-area professional sports teams. "The Phillies are long-time partners with the Tri-State Toyota Dealers Association, and were more than pleased to participate and host such a worthwhile event at Citizens Bank Park," said Phillies' Senior Vice President of Marketing, Dave Buck.

"The Tri-State Toyota Dealers Association (TDA) is one of Philabundance's strongest partners, and this donation will make a huge difference in the lives of those struggling to put food on the table this holiday season," said Bill Clark, president and executive director of Philabundance. "We can't thank them enough for all they do."

This year's food drive event will truly be a "Toyota Family" affair, with participation from Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Toyota Financial Services, and Toyota Material Handling, U.S.A. – the latter of which is providing the Toyota forklifts to off-load the food donated to Philabundance. "We are happy to team up with Philabundance once again, so to be able to help our fellow Toyota divisions is a true pleasure for our organization," said Tim Agnew, vice president/general manager of Toyota Material Handling Northeast, Inc.

"The food drive is a terrific example of how our dealer group here in the Philadelphia area is consistently focused on working in and contributing to local communities," said Andrew Gilleland, general manager of Central Atlantic Toyota. Throughout the year, the Tri-State Toyota Dealers have consistently supported many organizations and causes in the Greater Philadelphia Area, including donations and events dedicated to driver safety, wellness, children's causes, and providing assistance to local veterans through programs, such as "Hiring Our Heroes" (www.uschamber.com/hiringourheroes).

Toyota recognizes that hunger relief is a year-round need, and hopes that the 2013 "Toyota Tundra Food Drive" will inspire other organizations and individuals in the community to do their part and help Philabundance in any way they can. Visit www.philabundance.org to find out how you or your organization can get involved in hunger relief.

Philabundance and Toyota welcome any credentialed media to attend the "Toyota Tundra Food Drive" in Toyota Lot P at Citizens Bank Park on Friday, Dec. 13, anytime between 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.

About Philabundance

Philabundance reduces hunger and food insecurity in the Delaware Valley by providing food access to people in need in partnership with organizations and individuals. Philabundance provides a full plate of services through neighborhood distribution programs and a network of close to 500 member agencies in 9 counties. Philabundance serves approximately 72,000 people per week at a cost of 50 cents per meal. There are more than 900,000 people in the Delaware Valley who are at risk for chronic hunger and malnutrition. In 2012, Philabundance distributed nearly 25 million pounds of food. For more information about Philabundance, visit www.philabundance.org or call 215-339-0900. Visit us on Facebook, Facebook.com/Philabundance and follow us on Twitter, Twitter.com/Philabundance. If you or someone you know is in need of food assistance, please call Philabundance's Food Help Line, 800-319-Food (3663).

About Tri-State Toyota Dealers Association

The Tri-State Toyota Dealers Association is comprised of 25 Toyota Dealers in the Greater Philadelphia market, who have been providing customers in their Pennsylvania, Delaware and Southern New Jersey communities with Toyota sales and service for more nearly four decades. The Tri-State TDA has an ongoing partnership with multiple community organizations and causes, including the association's focus on hunger relief in the Delaware and Lehigh Valleys through initiatives such as the annual "Toyota Tundra Food Drives" in Philadelphia and Allentown and supporting the "Phans Feeding Families" initiative with the Philadelphia Phillies.

About Toyota

Toyota, the world's top automaker and creator of the Prius, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands.  Over the past 50 years, we've built more than 25 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants and directly employ nearly 40,000 people.  Our 1,800 North American dealerships sold more than 2.3 million cars and trucks in 2012 – and about 80% of all Toyotas sold over the past 20 years are still on the road today.

Toyota partners with a wide variety of organizations across the country, with a focus on education, safety and the environment.  As part of this commitment, we share the company's extensive know-how from building great cars and trucks to help community organizations and other nonprofits expand their ability to do good. (NYSE:TM)  For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com. 

About Toyota Material Handling

Celebrating over 45 years of operations in North America, Toyota has been the number-one selling lift truck in the U.S. since 2002. Toyota Material Handling, U.S.A., Inc. (TMHU), based in Irvine, Calif., offers a full line of high-quality lift trucks sold under the Toyota brand. Built on a reputation of excellence, Toyota remains popular due to its quality, reliability and durability. Quality is the hallmark of Toyota's world-renowned Toyota Production System practiced at all Toyota manufacturing facilities, including Toyota Industrial Equipment Mfg., Inc. (TIEM) in Columbus, Ind. Most of the Toyota lift trucks sold in North America are manufactured at TIEM.

For more information about Toyota Material Handling, U.S.A., Inc., visit www.toyotaforklift.com. For more information about TMHU's Philadelphia area dealer, Toyota Material Handling Northeast, Inc., visit www.tmhne.com.

CONTACTS: Lindsay Bues, Philabundance, 267-614-0491, [email protected], Danielle Coe, SHIFT Communications for Toyota, 805-729-2387, [email protected], Lisa O'Donnell, Saatchi & Saatchi for Tri-State Toyota Dealers Association, 917-576-3819, [email protected]

SOURCE Toyota