Hazleton Integration Project touts food availability efforts
Former baseball manager and Hazleton Integration Project (HIP) co-founder Joe Maddon speaks during Wednesday night’s HIP event at the Hazleton One Community Center.
U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright speaks at Wednesday night’s Hazleton Integration Project event at the Hazleton One Community Center.
Former baseball manager and Hazleton Integration Project (HIP) co-founder Joe Maddon jokes with his fellow HIP co-founder Bob Curry before Maddon’s remarks at Wednesday night’s event at the Hazleton One Community Center.
Event attendees watch a video describing the projects developed by the HIP Corp United team on Wednesday night.
Hazleton Integration Project (HIP) co-founder Bob Curry speaks to the crowd at Wednesday night’s HIP event at the Hazleton One Community Center.
The Hazleton One Community Center hosted a big night for the Hazleton Integration Project (HIP) on Wednesday.
HIP touted the development of their food availability programs and showed off their facilities to local officials, while attendees heard from a World Series champion and Hazleton native who helped to set up the organization in the first place.
Former Major League baseball manager and HIP co-founder Joe Maddon was on hand for Wednesday night’s event, which largely focused on HIP’s Eradicating Food Insecurity Initiative.
The event began with a presentation by HIP’s other co-founder, Bob Curry, who detailed some of the efforts made by the HIP Corp United team. That team is made up of high school students, who develop solutions regarding social justice and food insecurity in the Hazleton area.
Curry let the students do most of the talking during this segment of the event, which was overseen by Maddon, U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright, State Senator David Argall, and a number of other elected officials.
The students outlined the three major projects that HIP Corp United is working on:
• A food distribution center, which is still in the brainstorming phase. HIP representatives suggested that a pavilion in the Hazleton One Community Center parking lot could be used as the hub of this initiative.
• “The Untold Stories” documentaries, a series of short films created by the HIP Corp United team to spread awareness on food insecurity and social justice. The short films were played on a loop in the Hazleton One Community Center during the event.
• The van project, a branding initiative focused on “van wrapping.” Per HIP’s website, a grant was recently acquired by the organization for the purpose of purchasing two vans.
Curry sang the praises of the HIP Corp United team, whose research showed over a quarter of Hazleton’s 2022 population was insecure about food.
“We just could not be more proud of the students and what they’ve been able to accomplish in the fight against food insecurity,” said Curry.
Following the presentation of the students’ work, guests were given a tour of the Hazleton One Community Center, including its food pantry, cafeteria, kitchen and tutoring rooms.
During the tour, Curry said that HIP feeds 500 people on the third Friday of every month. He noted that attendees form a diverse crowd, and that the meal serves as a strong social and communal event for residents.
Curry said the political will it took to get HIP its funding over the years and the continued support the group has received since its inception. Curry specifically pointed out the efforts made by Cartwright, whose 8th Congressional District covers the entirety of the city of Hazleton.
Curry phrased his praise for Cartwright in the form of a question he regularly poses to the HIP Corp United team.
“Is it okay for someone in this community, where we have enough food to feed every person… Is it okay for you that someone is going to bed hungry, like your fellow students?
It is definitely not okay for Congressman Matt Cartwright. He was not okay with children going to bed hungry in his district,” said Curry.
Curry said that Cartwright, Argall, U.S. Senator Bob Casey and State Representative Dane Watro, all of whom were represented at Wednesday’s event, have supported HIP’s causes on the state and federal levels.
“It warms my heart to see the level of support that the Hazleton Integration Project has received over the years,” Cartwright said, before turning his attention to the leaders and volunteers who operate and contribute to HIP’s projects. “This is wonderful work you’re all doing here, and I thank you for doing it.”
In his comments to the fairly large crowd, Maddon recalled the moment that he considered forming the Hazleton Integration Project, and reflected on the state of Hazleton at the time of its conception.
“I drove here [to Hazleton] for Christmas in 2009, 2010… and I was really disappointed. I was upset… From the gathering of information I took while I was here, we talked about this,” Maddon recalled, noting that HIP’s progress over the years has reflected his initial hopes for the organization.
Maddon said that one of the founding principles of HIP was the embracing of the Hispanic population, which, according to the latest census estimates, makes up 62.2% of Hazleton’s population. Maddon was concerned in the early days of HIP that the city was pushing this population to the side.
“This town was going away. And it probably would have gone away had it not been for the tremendous influx of the Hispanic community in our town,” said Maddon.
Maddon closed his “off-the-cuff” message to the crowd with a call for reciprocal gratitude between the Hazleton community and the organizers of HIP.
“I’m grateful for you, and I hope you’re all grateful for us, too.”
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