As part of the Christie Administration's
"Season of Service" NJDOT donates trucks
full of food to four charities across NJ
Third annual department-wide food drive
helps those in need this holiday season
(Trenton) - New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) officials today delivered Department trucks loaded with food and other non-perishable items donated by NJDOT employees to four charities throughout the state. More than 10,200 items, such as canned goods and personal care products, were donated by NJDOT employees to help those in need – double the amount collected last year.
The effort was part of Governor Chris Christie’s sixth annual “Season of Service” initiative in which the Governor, First Lady Mary Pat Christie, and leaders of state departments take part in community service projects around the state.
In the third annual NJDOT food drive, the Department collected food and non-perishable items to benefit a food bank in each of the Department’s three regions. North Region employees donated goods to Sussex County Food Pantry, Central Region donated to the Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean counties, and South Region donated to the Food Bank of South Jersey located in Pennsauken. In addition, NJDOT headquarters staff collected goods for Arm in Arm, formerly the Crisis Ministry of Mercer County, which has been a beneficiary each year of the Department’s food drive.
The Season of Service campaign was spearheaded by the Department’s operations and maintenance staff. It provided employees who work at any of the 66 maintenance facilities, as well as those employees at headquarters in Trenton, an opportunity to participate.
“NJDOT personnel serve New Jersey residents every day by maintaining our roads and bridges throughout the state and our annual food drive in each region is a way to directly help the local communities and residents where they work,” NJDOT Commissioner Richard T. Hammer said. “It is especially important this time of year, which can be difficult for those in need. I am proud of the generosity NJDOT employees demonstrate each year.”
About the Charities
Arm in Arm, formerly The Crisis Ministry of Mercer County, connects people in need of food, housing and job support with people who want to help. Its three Client Choice food pantries provide a variety of heart-healthy food and personal care products such as soap, toothpaste, and diapers to up to 1,400 low-income households across Mercer County each month.
The Sussex County Food Pantry is part of the county’s Division of Social Services and provides food and personal items for anyone in the county that needs it. It also is one of the only food pantries to stock pet food.
The Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties collects donated food and distributes this to people in need through a network of more than 300 charitable programs in both counties. Together, it provided more than 10 million meals to people in need. Through programs and services like its Culinary Training Program and nutrition education, and outreach programs such as SNAP and free tax assistance, the FoodBank is working to build food-secure communities.
The Food Bank of South Jersey works with 250 food pantries, soup kitchens, rescues and homeless shelters, as well as direct services programs that target the most vulnerable groups – children and the elderly – in Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, and Salem counties to provide healthy foods to families in need. In 2015, the Food Bank of South Jersey distributed more than 10 million pounds of food. |
