Monday morning Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder David Peralta, his wife Jordan and dozens of hard-working volunteers gathered in north Phoenix to help fight childhood hunger here in the Valley. The “Pack the House” initiative in support of Kitchen on the Street’s Bags of Hope aims at stopping this growing epidemic.
“Me and my wife like to help people as much as we can,” Peralta said. “I know there are a lot of children out there who are hungry. To do this little thing…at the end of the day I know we’re going to put a smile on their face.”
The goal of Bags of Hope is to provide nutritious, kid-friendly snacks and meals which provide meals over the weekend when the children are not receiving reduced-priced meals during the school week. Some of the items include fruit snacks, pretzels and fruit cups
The third-year initiative was started by the D-backs and UnitedHealthCare as the two organizations aim to pack 49,000 meals, one for every seat at Chase Field. This was the first of three volunteer events in hopes of reaching their goal.
“Sometimes you need to take a little break from baseball and do something you like to do,” Peralta humbly said of the unique experience. “Everybody likes to help [others].”
Eric Sorenson
