LAKEVILLE, Conn. (June 24) - AARP, AARP Foundation, Lime Rock Park and LaBonne’s IGA, a local grocer, are teaming up Saturday, July 5 at the famous race track in Northwest Connecticut for a Drive to End Hunger meal-packing event with the goal of packaging and donating nearly 20,000 senior meals to Connecticut Food Bank.

More than 200 people from the tri-state area responded to the track’s call for volunteers to pack the meals for Drive to End Hunger, with more signing up every day. Lime Rock Park has selected AARP Foundation as its 2014 official charity.

The meal packing effort runs from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

The Drive to End Hunger meal packing event is scheduled to coincide with the track’s Independence Day Fireworks show, a popular Lime Rock tradition. The fireworks show ($20 donation per carload) has benefitted the local chapter of Rotary Club International for more than 30 years.

All meal-packing volunteers get free admission to the fireworks (9:00 p.m.), plus an AARP Drive to End Hunger Jeff Gordon “Hunger Hero” Hard Card. A “Thank you!” barbecue party for the volunteers precedes the fireworks.

“Being a part of this effort with Lime Rock Park and Connecticut Food Bank means that older adults who struggle with hunger will get access to the food they need,” said AARP Vice President CB Wismar. “We’re grateful to the volunteers who will have an opportunity to give back to their community and help to shine a spotlight on the issue of senior hunger in Connecticut.”

“We have been involved with Drive to End Hunger since the beginning of the year, and we are thrilled to personally host AARP and AARP Foundation here,” said Lime Rock Park President Skip Barber. “We look forward to continuing the fight against older adult hunger and are really pleased to provide aid to a cause with such a tremendous positive impact.”

Lime Rock Park selected AARP Foundation as its 2014 official charity to support Drive to End Hunger, a multi-year initiative to fight the risk of hunger for Americans age 50-plus. Nearly 9 million Americans age 50+ are at risk for hunger every day – a 79 percent increase in just 10 years. Drive to End Hunger is AARP and AARP Foundation’s multi-pronged approach to solve this problem; it works to combat hunger among people 50 and older through raising awareness – especially through AARP’s relationship with Jeff Gordon, four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet SS for Hendrick Motorsports – as well as building philanthropic support and developing long-term, sustainable solutions.

Check back at www.LimeRock.com for updates on this season’s activities with Drive to End Hunger. To learn more, please visit www.DriveToEndHunger.org or follow @Drive2EndHunger on Twitter.

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About Lime Rock Park

Lime Rock Park, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has been “New England’s Road Racing Home” since its opening in 1957. It is a multi-use facility noted for its 7-turn, 1.5-mile road course, located in Connecticut’s famous Northwest Corner. The venue holds FIA-listed national and international road racing events, driving schools, track days, corporate events and private functions. Lime Rock Park is owned by Skip Barber, founder of the renowned Skip Barber Racing School. Learn more atwww.limerock.com

About AARP Foundation

AARP Foundation is working to win back opportunity for struggling Americans 50+ by being a force for change on the most serious issues they face today: housing, hunger, income and isolation. By coordinating responses to these issues on all four fronts at once, and supporting them with vigorous legal advocacy, the Foundation serves the unique needs of those 50+ while working with local organizations nationwide to reach more people, strengthen communities, work more efficiently and make resources go further. AARP Foundation is AARP’s affiliated charity. Learn more at www.aarpfoundation.org

Contacts:
Charlotte Castillo, AARP
media@aarp.org
(202) 434-2560
@AARPMedia

Rick Roso, Lime Rock Park
rick@limerock.com
(860) 435-5000