For the 33rd year, Wawa’s hosted its National Hoagie Day giveaway, turning 7 tons of ingredients into 25,000 hoagies.
Of these, 10,000 were donated to local Philadelphia groups, while the other 15,000 were given out to people who were waiting in two lines, one of which encircled the Independence Visitor Center.
Although the main event didn’t start until noon, the action started at 5 a.m. in the basement of Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center.
The mood was festive in the basement as more than 150 associates hovered over hoagie rolls, turkey, provolone, tomato and lettuce. They worked in teams of three — one opened the roll and put it in front of the next, who threw on the meat, cheese and veggies, after which the third wrapped, rolled and taped shut the completed hoagie.
Rinse and repeat, the group of 150 would make 25,000, happily.
“It’s a great feeling getting up so early,” said Tori Deibert, a Wawa associate. “It’s like Christmas morning.”
For many, including Deibert, this is a yearly event.
“The only thing that stopped me was Covid, but every year since I’ve been in Philly, I’ve been coming to the Hoagie Day,” said Maria Castillo, another Wawa associate. This is her eighth year preparing sandwiches.
Both Castillo and Deibert were recognized as an MVP — Most Valuable Preparer — by Wawa’s newest hoagie maker, recently retired Eagles player Brandon Graham.
This was Graham’s first time at the event, and he contributed by wrapping five hoagies.
“This is their Super Bowl, so I understand it was going to be loud, crazy,” he said. “[I] couldn’t wait.”
Accompanying Graham was Eagles mascot Swoop and some of the team’s cheer squad. The group was representing the Eagles Autism Foundation, which received a check from Wawa.
The first 10,000 hoagies were assembled by 7:40 a.m., which — Billy Penn did the math — meant the associates made just over 60 hoagies per minute, even with a pause while Graham made his appearance.
According to Wawa, the hoagie ingredients weighed in at just over 13,000 pounds, which is nearly 7 tons of hoagies. Know what else weighs nearly 7 tons? An elephant.
However, preparing the sheer volume of hoagies didn’t prove daunting for the MVPs. “We make more than that at the stores,” Castillo said.
The first 10,000 hoagies were donated, with 7,500 going to Philabundance to help fight hunger in Philadelphia.
The other 2,500 were given to the Police Athletic League of Philadelphia (a youth development organization that offers free programing) and the Veterans Multi-Service Center.
The relative calm, efficiency and structure of the first half of the event was maintained even as the remaining 15,000 hoagies were offered up to the public, for free.
The day brought out thousands of people, even in the summer heat, with one line stretching from Arch and Sixth streets, into and down Independence Mall, around the Visitors Center and then back around on Sixth, almost meeting the start of the line back on the corner. (Secret tip: There is a second line on 5th Street which is much shorter.)
Some, like Robert D. Jones Jr., were in line “since before 9 o’clock.”
The heat was getting to some of the people in the line. “Some of them are just kinda mean,” Jones said.
Annette Cannon stepped out of line to find shade and a found a place to take cover under the William J. Green Jr. Federal Building. She has attended the event for the last eight years.
For others, like Demi Zebulun, they got in line later, taking the full brunt of the sun on Independence Mall.
It was Zebulun’s first time at the free hoagie-palooza, and he was looking to get swag, namely the Wawa hat.
He said he was daunted by the line, but, “I just try not to look at it, and, y’know, hopefully I’ll eventually get up there.”
Once noon hit and hoagies started flying, the line never stopped moving. The speakers included Mayor Cherelle Parker, who said she would never complain about a hot day. Not everyone in the crowd agreed.
When folks got to the head of the line, they received a signature red Wawa bag, with all the essentials — a bottle of water, potato chips, a Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpet, a Wawa Welcome America cap and, of course, the hoagie.
That last item was the favorite of Russell Stone, a Hoagie Day regular, who enjoyed the good energy that free food brought.
“It’s kind of like Christmas,” Stone said.
“What I love about it, if you look around you just see all these people, everybody is in the mall,” he said, talking about Hoagie Day. “People that don’t know each other are talking, communicating.”
“It was a great day,” said Rob Christopher, a Hoagie Day first-timer. “Everybody that’s down here wants to be down here.”
(Editor’s Note: Nate Harrington’s WHYY News internship has been made possible thanks to the generous support from the Dow Jones News Fund O’Toole Family Foundation Internship.)
