4th Annual End Hunger Project with the Madison Rotary Scheduled – TAPinto.net
MADISON, NJ – Based on the resounding success of the End Hunger 3.6 Packaging Project of March 2018, the Rotary Club of Madison and the Madison Rotary Foundation announce this year’s project to take place once again at the The Simon Forum at Drew University, Madison Avenue on Saturday, March 9 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This year’s goal is to surpass last year’s total of 160,000 meals, by packaging 250,000 meals. With the newly merged District 7475, a second packaging event will take place on March 30, at Raritan Valley Community College from 12 pm to 6pm to package 150,000 meals for a grand total of 400,000 meals.
What does 3.6 represent? Every 3.6 seconds someone in the world dies of malnutrition or starvation. In Rotary District 7475 which encompasses 10 counties in north central and central New Jersey, it is estimated that over 300,000 men, women and children are food insecure. Over one million persons are living below the poverty level in New Jersey. Over the long term, prevention of food insecurity is likely to be more cost-effective in treating the consequences of this crisis.
The End Hunger 3.6 project is a community event involving volunteers packaging non-perishable, ready to cook meals, such as macaroni and cheese, rice and vegetables, minestrone, and apple cinnamon oatmeal. All food is vitamin enriched, and GMO-free. The meals are distributed to soup kitchens and feeding stations throughout Rotary District 7475 as this is a District-wide project. Last year’s recipients were: in Morris County: The Community Soup Kitchen, Table of Hope, Market Street Mission, and Faith Kitchen in Dover; in Essex County: St. John’s Soup Kitchen, M.E.N.D. (interfaith Meeting Emergency Needs with Dignity), and the Salvation Army’s numerous feeding facilities including a mobile van. Hunterdon, Sussex, and Warren Counties were served by NORWESCAP’s feeding facilities; and Somerset County was served by God’s Co-Op Pantry in Bernardsville. In addition, organizations from Somerset, Union, Mercer and Middlesex counties will be included from the packaging event on March30.
In order to purchase ingredients for packaging, donations and grants are required. Donations of $500 or more will be acknowledged in Rotary’s publicity materials. Contributions are tax deductible and can be made on line or by mail to Madison Rotary Foundation, P.O. Box 211, Madison, NJ. 07940. Contributions for the March 30 event at Raritan Valley Community College may be sent to: Branchburg Rotary Club Foundation, P. O. Box 5135, Branchburg, NJ 08876. Both are 501(c)3 organizations.
A total of 800 volunteers are needed for the day of the event. Please register by March 5 on Madison Rotary Website: www.madisonrotarynj.org. For further information, contact Ellsworth Havens, Chair, at: ellsworthhavens@icloud.com (Madison) or Tulsi Maharian, RVCC event Chair at trmaharjan@gmail.com.