BOBO a New Program For Collecting Donations

The end of the month is usually the most difficult time to gather food and other supplies for the Food Bank Network of Somerset County, but a new collection plan is working to fix that problem.

"Marie Scannell, [executive director of the Food Bank Network], said the last week of the month is the hardest time to get donations," Somerset County Freeholder Patricia Walsh said. "And it was always in my head to maybe do more for collections, maybe once a month."

At her mayor's roundtable meeting last year, Walsh said, she discussed the Adopt a Family program, which allows people to pay $40 to feed a family of four that is registered with the food bank network, dividing it into $10 per person for a meal.

But Walsh wanted another way to help those in need.

From that decision came the adoption of the "Buy One, Bring One" program, more affectionately known as "BOBO Fridays." The next installment of the program will be held Friday, and it will be the first time the public can participate as well.

When it started, the program was only for county employees to donate food items on one Friday a month.

"We thought, what about on the third Friday of every month, if people went out shopping and brought in one food item," Walsh said.

The program began in July, and, in the past two months, has collected a total of 470 pounds of donated items, with 220 pounds coming in July and 250 pounds in August.

"We figured we'd try it, and if it works, it works," Walsh said. "But we can always count on the generosity of the county families."

Walsh said the program was originally started in several county locations as a way for the employees to help supplement the food bank. This month, she said, it has been expanded to the public, with bins placed at the Somerset County Administration Building and the Bridgewater Township Public Library, among five other locations around the county.

Walsh said some county workers then requested to have bins at their locations for the public to contribute.

"Now we have seven bins in total," she said.

On the Monday after the collection, Walsh said, a member of the county's recycling program picks up the items from the different bins to be brought to the food bank network warehouse in Bridgewater.

Walsh said the program is all about developing a routine, asking people to simply spend an extra dollar or two to pick up an additional can of something when they go shopping.

"When they go food shopping, we can get them in a routine," she said. "We wouldn't think of asking people to bring in a whole bag of food, just one can of something. We think most people can squeeze that out."

And Walsh said she hopes people will remember the name of the program to remind them to purchase the items.

"It kind of sounds like a clown name, BOBO," she said with a laugh. "It is catchy."

Walsh said the food bank is looking for all items, not just food. She said they are also looking for such personal-care items as bath soap, deodorant, shampoo and toilet paper, in addition to canned or boxed food items.

"Food stamps don't pay for things like soap and shampoo," she said.

The Food Bank Network of Somerset County currently services more than 500 families a month throughout the county, and Walsh said it is important to note that the people being helped are not necessarily homeless, just those in need of assistance.

"These aren't homeless street people, these are your neighbors," she said. "People are struggling, and it's sad to think of people in this situation."

The bins will be at the county administration building at 20 Grove Street in Somerville, as well as at the Bridgewater Township Library on Vogt Drive. They will be available every day, not just the third Fridays of the month.