Letter: South Brunswick Praised for Challenge Donations

On behalf of the Department of Social Services in South Brunswick Township, we wanted to thank all the residents, local businesses, community groups and schools that participated in the Feinstein Challenge to Fight Hunger. 

During the two month period ending April 30, the Food Pantry collected a grand total of $86,062.05 in food, in-kind gifts and monetary donations. To break the numbers down further we received $55,187.05 in monetary and in-kind donations, and 30,875 food items valued at $1 apiece.

This number exceeded 2012’s contributions by a whopping 22 percent! The Feinstein challenge allows hunger agencies to participate in receiving a prorated portion of the $1,000,000 given away and this increase in donations will benefit the pantry immensely.

This was the fourth year that we have participated in the Feinstein Challenge and has become so integrated in the community, that our participants begin scheduling events on our behalf without much prompting. 

It is so heartwarming and comforting to know that this Township has such generosity for those in need.  We are grateful to act on behalf of the Township and distribute this wonderful bounty to our clients.

We also want to thank the Kendall Park Post Office and Darryl Whitaker for again participating in the “Stamp Out Hunger” program on Saturday May 11.  The generosity of the Kendall Park residents along with the Postal Service’s time spent collecting all the food resulted in a HUGE pickup truck filled with food for the pantry.

Again, thank you to all who participated in both of these important fundraisers –we couldn’t have done it without you!

--Carol Mazzarella, LouAnne Wolf, South Brunswick Social Services