| ANNUAL “HAVE A HEART” FOOD DRIVE WRAPS-UP WITH MORE THAN 12,000 POUNDS OF DONATED TO TOWNSHIP FOOD BANKS |
Feb. 26, 2007
Mayor McCormac Cites Support of School Students and Community in Effort to Re-Supply Food Pantries
Woodbridge Township Mayor John E. McCormac today announced that the 2007 “Have a Heart” food drive collected more than 12,000 pounds of food for local food pantries to distribute to needy families throughout Woodbridge Township.
“The annual ‘Have a Heart’ food drive is one of the most important programs that school students participate in each January. I am proud to be part of the efforts to extend the generosity of the holiday season to replenish and restock Township food banks,” Mayor McCormac said. “Hunger knows no season and no boundary. It’s crucial that we work every day – not just during the holiday season – to collect food as we work to help provide the necessities of life to our neighbors and families who might otherwise go hungry.”
According to Mayor McCormac, the annual “Have a Heart” food drive, so named because it runs through Valentine’s Day, is launched each January by the Woodbridge Department of Health & Human Services and the “We Feed Woodbridge Food Bank Committee.” The “Have a Heart” food drive, established in 1995, works with area food pantries, churches, parishes, schools, and community and senior organizations to replenish and restock food pantries.
Peter Barcellona, Chairman of the “Have a Heart” food drive, said that the 2007 community program netted more that 12,000 pounds of food – 2,000 pounds more that the 2006 collection of 10,000 pounds of food stuffs. Barcellona noted that non-perishable food (canned goods, pre-package and boxed foods, baby food, paper products, etc.) were collected and sorted for donation by the Fourth Grade students from the Robert Mascenik School 26 in Iselin. The student food drive program was coordinated by teacher/advisor Kristie Manente and Principal Beatrice Moskowitz. Students from Menlo Park Terrace School #19, Ford Avenue School #14, and the Ross Street School #11 participated in the 2007 “Have a Heart” food drive.
Mayor McCormac noted that teachers and students turn food drive logistics into classroom curriculum exercises with students creating posters, flyers, graphs and other learning aids that apply lesson plans and problem-solving methods to the project. Additionally, students coordinate the collection, sorting, packaging and delivering of food products to the food pantries.
The food items will be distributed to needy Woodbridge Township families and individuals through the following food pantries:
According to a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture report, more than 14 million American families – 11.9 percent of all U.S. households – are at some time during the year uncertain of, or unable to purchase, enough food for their family.
The ongoing effort to keep Woodbridge Township food banks stocked throughout the year continues with food donations being part of various Township-sponsored events such as the Mayor’s Summer Concert Series, the Barron Arts Center Holiday Concert, and other public events. Non-perishable foods can be dropped off any weekday at the Woodbridge Township Public Health Center, 2 George Frederick Plaza, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Additional food drop-off locations are at Woodbridge Town Hall, 1 Main Street, the Woodbridge Library, 1 George Frederick Plaza, or at the Woodbridge Community Center, 600 Main Street..
Additional information about the “Have a Heart” food drive or the “We Feed Woodbridge” food bank committee is available by contacting Peter Barcellona at 732-855-0600 x5034.
John R. Hagerty
Mayor’s Office of Communications
732-602-6039
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MIS Department
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