Tierney announces food drive success

The Philadelphia Inquirer's Chief Executive Officer Brian Tierney announced today that the paper has collected more than 420,000 pounds of food for Philabundance and the Food Bank of South Jersey.

And he said the company will embark on an even greater challenge that will include the Philadelphia Daily News in the next year to collect one million pounds of food.

"The need is still here," Tierney said during a news conference at Philabundance in South Philadelphia today. "The Inquirer and Daily News will bring their resources together and collect one million pounds of food."

The food drive, which vastly exceeded expectations, was originally aimed at collecting 180,000 pounds of food over 180 days to celebrate the newspaper's 180th anniversary. ACME Markets also helped with food collection.

Tierney said it's a difficult time for food banks in the region, noting that demand for food had increased 23 percent while contributions have dropped 26 percent.

He said that the Inquirer's food collection drive will help provide 1.26 million individual meals to the needy in the South Jersey area and Philadelphia and its surrounding counties.

He thanked the millions of readers, partners and employees who made cash and food contributions.