Companies needed to organize summer food drives for children

Business Volunteer Council (BVC) Kicks off  “Brown Bag Buddies”

 

Hundreds of children from needy families receive breakfast and lunch during the school year through subsidized school meal programs.  When schools close for summer vacation, these meals are not available. Low-income families strapped for cash sometimes have to make the choice between paying rent or going hungry.

 

Companies are needed to host employee food drives during the summer to help these families.  The goal for 2013 is 10,000 pounds of food. The BVC is coordinating the effort to collect “kid-friendly”, non-perishable breakfast and lunch food items.  The food collected during this initiative, entitled Brown Bag Buddies, will be delivered to the Center for Food Action and other local food pantries during July and August. A free information kit with lots of “how-to’s” is available by calling (201) 489-9454 Ext. 133.

 

According to statistics from the National School Lunch Program, more than 385,000 children in New Jersey, including over 20,000 who live in Bergen County, receive free or reduced price meals in their schools.  Last year, only 11 percent of the children participating in the National School Lunch Program had access to nutritious meals in the summer. 

 

“The wages of the working poor have not kept up with housing, transportation and child care costs. Without school meals, families must turn to the food pantries to provide nutritional meals for their children,” says Ellen Lutvak, BVC coordinator at the Volunteer Center.

 

Since 2000, over $334,000 worth of food and grocery gift cards, which equates to  over one hundred thousand pounds of food,  have been  distributed through Brown Bag Buddies.  

 

“We are asking all companies in northern New Jersey to encourage their employees to participate in this summer food drive,” continues Ms. Lutvak. “Remember, hunger never takes a vacation.”

 

The sponsors for this year’s drive are United Water, BD, Rockland Electric, Sealed Air, Cole,Schotz,Meisel, Forman & Leonard, KPMG and Five Star Premier Residences of Teaneck.

 

For more information about Brown Bag Buddies or the other programs of the BVC, call (201) 489-9454, Ext. 133 or e-mail elutvak@bergenvolunteers.org.