(MOBILE, Ala.) - They were up against three organizations, but Wednesday morning on NBC's Today Show, the Bay Area Food Bank's one in four shot became a sure thing in front of a national audience.
The crowd gathered in front of the camera went wild with cheer. It was a real victory for a group with a mission to feed families.
"It's literally a million pounds of food we're going to be able to pass out to people in need," Dave Reaney, executive director of the Bay Area Food Bank, said.
Pastor Diane Baldwin helped get the ball rolling. When she heard about the Today Show's contest giving one hundred thousand dollars to a worthy cause.
"We immediately thought about the Bay Area Food Bank," Baldwin said. "This organization is incredible and they are able to do so much for so many along the gulf coast."
Bay Area Food Bank started in 1981 and feeds people left hungry by personal crisis or disaster in 24 counties in Alabama, Florida and Mississippi. The Theodore-based food bank is as important now as ever.
"Oh, the food bank is very important to us. They have helped us in the past month to feed families who have lost their jobs because of the BP oil spill," supporter Grace Scire said.
While they took a break to take a little direction from the folks at Today, it's back to their important work With a one hundred thousand dollar boost.
"This is literally going to help thousands of people along the gulf coast," Reaney said.
