Thursday, December 2, 2004

Community Food Bank Needs Your Help

Beginning Monday, December 6 and continuing
through Friday, December 17, Atlantic County residents are encouraged to place canned goods at the curb on their recycling collection day as part of the 14th annual Holiday Food Drive. Atlantic County Utilities
Authority recycling crews will collect the canned goods in conjunction with regularly scheduled recycling pick-ups.

Sponsored by Community Energy, Inc., Wawa Food Markets and the ACUA, the Holiday Food Drive gives residents an easy and convenient way to help the needy while helping the environment. All canned goods collected through the Holiday Food Drive will be distributed through the Community FoodBank of NJ, Southern Branch, which provides the donated food to more than 300 local charities for distribution to those less fortunate in Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, and southern Burlington Counties.

“In light of recent events, the FoodBank’s needs are greater than ever,” said Evelyn Benton, branch director of the Community FoodBank. “We are regularly having to limit the amount of food each charity can receive because the need is so great and our resources so stretched. Request for assistance is up 75 percent since 2000,” said Ms. Benton, “The ACUA Holiday Food Drive is absolutely essential. The people of Atlantic County and the ACUA recycling employees have come through in a big way for the food bank in the past and we really need their help
again,” said Benton.

Instead of plastic bags, recyclable brown paper food drive bags will be distributed to most Atlantic County households in the Wednesday, December 1 edition of The Press of Atlantic City. However, any bag can be used.

Atlantic County residents not serviced through the ACUA curbside recycling program can participate by bringing their donations to the ACUA at 6700 Delilah Rd., or to the Community Food Bank, located at 6735 Black Horse Pike, Egg Harbor Township.

Items most needed are non-perishable foods, such as canned meats, canned soups, canned vegetables, canned stew and canned fruit. Please do not include perishable or frozen items, or food in glass jars.

For more information, contact the Community Food Bank of NJ, Southern Branch, at (609) 383-8843 or the Atlantic County Utilities Authority at (609) 272-6950 or (800) 613-ACUA.

County News