Volunteers battled the elements and their own personal fitness Saturday morning, literally running 608 pounds of donated food from Veterans Park in Norwalk to Open Doors Connecticut's pantry.

"There is something so amazing about people literally physically throwing themselves into a food drive," said Erin McDonough, the director of community supports for Open Doors.

Organizers from CT Run Co, which also helps provide the food, said despite the cold, this year was the biggest turnout yet with around 80 volunteers.

"To have that little bit of discomfort makes you appreciate what people who are unhomed or in need of special services go through on a daily basis," said Megan Searfoss, the owner of CT Run Co.

Many of those were local high school students and members of Feeding 500 Darien.

"It was really inspiring because it was 8 a.m., and I wasn't expecting as many people to show up as they did," said the group's vice president, Caroline Baldwin.

This year's event happened as uncertainty over SNAP benefits, tariffs and inflation have put the issue of food at the front of many people's minds.

"To know that we all want to come together and make a difference and ensure that nobody has to be hungry is extraordinary," said McDonough. "This is the season of giving every year, but it's particularly challenging for people this year."

As far as getting bringing the food from one place to another, volunteers admitted, that was also challenging on its own level.

"Carrying turkeys a mile sounds easy," laughed Searfross. "It's really, really not."

To help, people loaded up everything from coolers to backpacks to baby carriers.

Thomas Wong from Norwalk stole the show, putting one turkey in his backpack and then carrying two more - one in each hand.

"When you have 60 pounds on your, you're kind of in the zone," he said after with a smile. "I just did (the) New York (marathon) last week, and I ran another marathon after that so, coming off two marathons, this is the recovery right here."

The work for the volunteers kept going after the run, as they then brought their nonperishable food in Open Doors' grocery pantry and put it right on the shelves - where members of the community will be able to come pick it up directly.

"When you get here, you see all the donations, and you're like, 'Yeah OK, we did something good today,'" Wong said.