Alright, Lake Norman — it’s time to flex those neighborly muscles. The 5th Annual Back-to-School Food Drive is rolling in on Saturday, August 23rd, and the mission is big: collect 28,000 pounds of food to restock the Bags of Hope warehouse just in time for the school year.

This isn’t just a “drop a few cans in a bin” kind of thing — it’s a full-on Neighborhood Challenge. Volunteers can sign up as Neighborhood Ambassadors (fancy title, very important job) or rally a local crew — gyms, sports teams, church groups, even book clubs — to join in. Ambassadors get the oh-so-official task of distributing donation bags around August 14–17, then swooping back in to collect them before delivering the goods to Bags of Hope on August 23rd between 9 a.m. and noon.

Every single item collected goes straight into weekend food bags for 750+ students across 34 local schools — making sure no kid spends their weekend hungry.

Already see your neighborhood on the sign-up list? No worries. You can still join forces with other Ambassadors for maximum coverage (and minimal cardio).

Sign up here: Bags of Hope Volunteer Form

Lake Norman, you’ve got this — let’s fill those bags and then some.