Hackettstown Rotary and WRNJ to host annual holiday food drive Nov. 22 to benefit NORWESCAP Food Bank
MANSFIELD TOWNSHIP, N.J. (Warren County) — The Hackettstown Rotary Club, in partnership with WRNJ Radio, will hold its annual Holiday Food Drive to benefit the NORWESCAP Food Bank on Saturday, Nov. 22, from 9 a.m. to noon in the Panera Bread parking lot at 2045 Route 57 in the Mansfield Plaza.
Cash donations are welcome, and organizers say there is a need for frozen turkeys and hams, canned fruits and vegetables, tuna, peanut butter, carrots, stuffing mix, pasta, sauces, nonperishable foods, and gift cards.
WRNJ’s Jay Edwards will broadcast live from the event, inviting the community to stop by and help support local families.
“Food banks are experiencing a particularly challenging year, with dramatic federal cuts to USDA food programs amounting to over $1 billion,” the Rotary said in a statement. “The cuts to TEFAP (Emergency Food Assistance Program) and LFPA (Local Food Purchase Assistance) have resulted in reduced deliveries of meat, produce and other staples to food banks, which are already struggling with increased demand as food insecurity increases in our population.”
“The Hackettstown Rotary Club and WRNJ have been great partners in this worthwhile initiative, which we have been holding for over 20 years,” said Catherine Rust, chair of the Hackettstown Rotary Holiday Food Drive. “We are grateful to the Hackettstown community, which is extremely generous. I have no doubt that they will step up once again to provide dramatic support for NORWESCAP and for our local food pantries once again this season.”
A list of local food pantries offering assistance will be available during the event.
Food and financial donations will support the NORWESCAP Food Bank, one of only five Feeding America food banks in New Jersey and a key resource for families across the region.
For more information about this year’s food drive, email info@hackettstownrotary.org.
