Because the COVID-19 pandemic has put additional pressure on families in Harnett County, Boon Edam employees wanted to help ensure that local children got enough food to enable them to learn and thrive. Many Harnett County children receive their only meal of the day at school, and with cancelled and/or virtual classes, these children would go all day without enough to eat. Mission 500 works with local charities to assist these children by providing meals, and, when they return to school, the essential supplies needed to help them succeed academically.

With that in mind, several Boon Edam employees each pledged to walk 50 miles during the month of August to raise money. They were responsible for recruiting sponsors to donate money in exchange for the miles walked. Mission 500 provided a web-based, fundraising tool that allowed the employees to create profile pages and guide their sponsors to their page to make a donation, and additionally Boon Edam pledged to contribute up to $3,000.

On September 1, 2020, the virtual walk concluded with $2,700 raised by the employees, plus a $3000 contribution from Boon Edam Inc. The funds are being donated to a local 501c3 organisation called the Harnett County Partnership for Children which serves local community charities that help children and families in crisis.

"As we saw COVID-19 impacting our local families, we knew Boon Edam wanted to help," says Valerie Anderson, President of Boon Edam Inc. "We've partnered with Mission 500 in the past and wanted to do so again this year. It was heart warming to see our employees eager to help others in our community. In these times, it is easy to become consumed with the negativity around our current social and economic state. Boon Edam will continue to count on our people and resources to look for more opportunities to help our community in these challenging times and in the coming months ahead."