Food Bank of South Jersey aims to feed half a million kids in the area
Members of Virtua’s leadership team recently participated in the Food Bank of South Jersey’s Summer Meals program by providing a fresh and nutritious lunch to local children at the Martin Luther Christian School in Pennsauken.
The volunteers from Virtua prepared and served fresh lunches, consisting of chicken salad, apples and milk to nearly 50 children at the Martin Luther Christian School. The volunteers spent lunchtime interacting with the children and made sure they had enough to eat.
“Virtua is strongly committed to healthy food access and food-as-medicine programs in our community. We are proud to partner with great organizations like the Food Bank of South Jersey. Virtua’s support of the Summer Meals program is another component of our strategic partnerships,” said Al Campanella, executive vice president and chief operating officer with Virtua.
According to Virtua, it is estimated that more than 57,000 children in South Jersey face food insecurity. When school ends for the year, parents who relied on school meals to provide nourishment for their children during the day are left with few options. The Food Bank’s Summer Meals program provides children with fresh and nutritious meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner for 10 weeks in the summer. Last year’s program provided 395,000 meals to 8,100 children in Burlington, Camden, Salem and Gloucester counties.
“We are so grateful to our sponsors and volunteers who have helped this program make a difference in the lives of more and more children each year,” said Joe Njoroge, interim president & CEO of Food Bank of South Jersey. “Summer Meals is important not only to the children who enjoy the food, but to their parents. We are proud to be able to take some of the burden of replacing school-provided meals once summer hits.”
This year’s goal is to provide half a million meals to the children in Burlington, Camden, Salem and Gloucester counties who need it most.
For those interested in becoming a Summer Meals sponsor, visit https://foodbanksj.org/summermeals or email partner@foodbanksj.org.
