You can help Camden food drive break world record

CAMDEN – With your help they can.

Lana Posner, a local food activist and founder of the Camden-based charity Feed Our Children NOW! is preparing for what she and organizers hope will become the largest food drive in history.

The drive at the Camden Waterfront is being held in connection with the Vans Warped Tour presented by Journeys.

The official Guinness World Records attempt for most food collected at a single location in an eight-hour time frame will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Lot 12 next to Campbell's Field Friday.

Posner moved to Camden in 2007 to establish Feed Our Children NOW!, a program of Creative Money Works Inc., a nonprofit aimed at improving the lives of children in need in the United States.

The program has been a part of the Vans Warped Tour for eight years, collecting food at all tour dates throughout the country.

Last summer, the charity collected 413,000 pounds of food. This summer, Posner hopes to break the eight-hour record — 250,000 pounds — and help the children of Camden.

"Summer can be the worst time of year for hungry children and there are so many children that need help right here in Camden," Posner said.

"Now more than ever, it is absolutely necessary for us to redouble our efforts to bring in more food and make sure children are getting the nourishment to stay healthy and happy."

Feed Our Children NOW! will also be collecting cans across from the ticket booth at the entrance to the Susquehanna Bank Center in exchange for Express Entry into the concert.

All food collected will be distributed to children in Camden through local charities.

A Guinness World Records adjudicator will be on hand to verify the record.

For more information, visit http://feedourchildrennow.org/.

If you would like to participate in the food drive but cannot make it the the event this Friday, you can drop off non-perishable food items at the front lobby of the Courier-Post building located at 301 Cuthbert Blvd in Cherry Hill.

Non-perishable food items include evaporated and powdered milk, infant formula, canned vegetables and soups, baby food, breakfast cereals, boxed rice and pasta and more.

The deadline for the drop-off is Friday, July 10 at 10 a.m.

Matt Flowers can be reached at mflowers@gannett.com or on Twitter @CP_MFlowers