This Thursday is Food Lion Hunger Relief Day at the fair, which means you can get in free that day if you bring four cans of Food Lion brand food to the gate.

All of the food collected goes to the Food Bank of North Carolina.

Last year's canned food drive collected 247,569 pounds of food, which equals 208,479 meals. NC Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler says this year's goal is 300,000 pounds of food.

If fairgoers break last year’s record, the fair will donate $1,000 to the food bank. If collections top 275,000 pounds, the fair will kick in $2,500. And if collections reach 300,000 pounds, the fair will donate $5,000 to the food bank.

Food bank personnel say each dollar collected helps fund four meals. A donation of $5,000 would fund 20,000 meals.

So if you're able, go ahead and toss a 5th (or 6th) can in your sack when you head out Thursday!

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Speaking of feeding the hungry ... The Pork Chop Shop, which has been a fair staple for more than 20 years, is donating a portion of this year's proceeds to The Food Effect, a campaign co-sponsored by the N.C. Pork Council, which supports North Carolina food banks in an effort to fight childhood hunger in local communities. You can also donate to the campaign through The Food Effect website.

The Pork Chop Shop is located between Dorton Arena and the Education Building, near Gate 1.

We can all use free stuff these days, and that includes free entry into
a running event that is part of the Sept. 19 Celebrate Cary at Sunset
festival.

Triangle runners can have their entry fees waived for the Cary Sunset
7000 at the Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary. The 4 p.m. race is a
7,000-yard - 1.25-mile - run, jog or walk around Symphony Lake.

Instead of paying the $15 entry fee, runners may make a donation of
food to the Food Bank of North Carolina at the Food Bank's booth during
the coinciding Celebrate Cary at Sunset Festival. A minimum donation of
$5 to $10 worth of food is required, but runners are welcome to contribute
more.