Wawa helps feed those who go hungry in the Philadelphia area.

On Thurs., June 30, 2016, Wawa kicked off its Welcome America Celebration, which ran through July 4, 2016.

According to a report from The Philly Voice, thousands of individuals attended the kick-off celebration, which was hosted at the Independence Mall. As a part of the celebration, marking the 24th annual Wawa Hoagie Day, the c-store chain created a six-ton, two-mile-long Italian hoagie. The hoagie equaled 23,000 individual “Shorti” hoagies, and it was served for free to attendees during the event.

In addition to celebrating Wawa Hoagie Day and the beginning of the Welcome America Celebration, this event helped the company highlight the serious hunger problem that is prominent in the city, The Philly Voice reported. The first 5,000 hoagies that were assembled for the event were donated to a local food-rescue organization, Philabundance, which works to support those the Greater Philadelphia area who go hungry. The company also donated another 1,000 hoagies to local veterans.

During the celebration, Preston Elliot of the WMMR radio show “Preston and Steve” hosted the Hoagies for Heroes contest. This annual face-off includes teams of Philadelphia firefighters competing against city police officers, while members of the Pennsylvania Air Force National Guard faced members of the Army National Guard, in a contest to make as many hoagies as they can in three minutes.

In the end, the Fire Department team beat the police officers, 46 sandwiches to 39 sandwiches; and the Air Force team dominated, building 66 sandwiches – 18 more than the Army team. Additionally, The Philly Voice reported that each team raised $3,000 for charity.