MCFOODS Food Collection Down Almost 7 Tons

Needy Middlesex County residents who rely on food banks and kitchens to shore up their own meagre stores have found those shelves a little more bare. 

One reason is that the MCFOODS 2013 Spring School Food Drive - a reliable source of foodstuffs for the county's poor residents - came up almost 7 tons of food short from last year's drive.

Despite strong efforts by students in 2013, food collections were down. This year, 139 Middlesex County schools participated and collected 52 tons of goods for distribution, down 6.7 tons from 2012. In 2012, 151 schools collected 58.7 tons of food for county residents, according to a release sent out by the Middlesex County Improvement Authority, a county agency which runs the program.

“This drive is so crucial to our collection efforts and I can’t thank the participating school administrators, students, families and communities enough for all of their help,” said MCFOODS Project Manager Jennifer Apostol in the statement.

“But with collections dwindling, there are serious concerns about sustaining our distribution levels and schedules in the months to come.  It’s even more alarming when you anticipate the increasing needs that typically accompany summer, a time when many children, who are not in the school system, don’t have their regular access to subsidized meals.”

The MCFOODS program was created by the Board of Chosen Freeholders in 1994 to ensure that an adequate supply of foods and necessities are readily available to Middlesex County residents in need, the MCIA said. The program collects and distributes nonperishable items to over 80 local food pantries and soup kitchens throughout the county as well as 25 other agencies.

Apostol is calling on all Middlesex County residents who are able, to make a donation at one of the local MCFOODS library drop-off sites, which include East Brunswick, Edison, Metuchen, Milltown, Monroe, North Brunswick, Perth Amboy, Piscataway, Plainsboro, South Amboy, South Brunswick, South Plainfield, Spotswood and Woodbridge.

For more information on the MCFOODS program, interested parties can contact Apostol at 609-655-5141, by emailing ja@mciauth.com or by logging onto www.mciauth.com.