Announcements

Food Rescue Inspires the Community to Donate What They’d Spend on Lunch to Help Feed Their Hungry Neighbors

Table to Table Launches Annual Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch

Hasbrouck Heights, NJ October 14, 2021 – Table to Table, New Jersey’s first and solely dedicated community-based food rescue program, kicks off its ever-popular Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch. This grassroots initiative invites individuals, employees in corporations and students in schools to donate what they would spend on lunch for a day, week, month or more to help Table to Table feed those who need it most. Donate Now!

“Many are unaware that 1 in every 4 NJ residents do not earn enough to afford the basic necessities of food and housing,” says Ilene Isaacs, Executive Director of Table to Table. “Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch is an easy way for individuals, schools and companies to be a part of the solution by donating what they would spend on lunch to help our hungry neighbors,” Isaacs concluded.

Individuals, employees at corporations and students in schools can energize their social networks to host a Bag a Lunch event. Fun competitions among different classes in schools or departments within a corporation, can inspire and engage participants. Also, involvement from different positions in an organization can help bolster the Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch event. For instance, schools that involve the principal, PTA, faculty or parent community to support the challenge tend to create a powerful event. And, the team captain can help publicize the event via the school’s website, social media, and invite the Mayor to help kickoff or culminate the activity.

“As a community we have the ability to be a part of the solution to the problem of hunger plaguing so many of our neighbors,” says Isaacs. “And, from now until December 3, you, your company…and even your child’s school can double your impact with our generous matches,” concludes Isaacs.

For individual donations, the first $15,000 raised will be matched by a former Table to Table trustee! And for donations coming from school teams, any donations raised will be matched up to $30K. The school in Northern NJ that raises the most will receive The Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch Bernard and Geraldine Segal Foundation Award for Student Philanthropy, which will be promoted through social media and publicity. Hurry, the match deadline is December 3, 2021. To get started on your Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch event, simply register here, or contact Shahna Sherwood.

Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch is made possible by generous sponsors including: Presenting Sponsor: Inserra Supermarkets; Platinum Sponsor: Becton, Dickinson and Company; Gold Sponsor: Takasago; Silver Sponsors: The Children’s Place, Eisai and Konica Minolta; and Bronze Sponsors: Aetna, Aspen Insurance, Freedom Bank, Hackensack Meridian Health, Movado and PNC Bank.

To help Table to Table in their mission to address food insecurity in Northern New Jersey, Donate Now! And, if your organization would like to become a corporate partner, click here or email Eda Tekeoglu. For more information on Table to Table, visit us at www.tabletotable.org.

About Table to Table

Table to Table, http://www.tabletotable.org is New Jersey’s first and only solely dedicated community-based food rescue program that collects fresh and perishable food which would otherwise be wasted and delivers it to organizations that serve people experiencing hunger in Bergen, Hudson, Essex, and Passaic counties in Northeastern NJ. With a fleet of refrigerated trucks, perishable food is picked up from commercial donors and delivered to more than 250 recipient organizations. Recipient partners include soup kitchens, homeless shelters, older adult programs, day care centers, and programs for the working poor. Food is provided free of charge. Table to Table raises all its own funds every year, and this year will deliver enough food for 39 million meals.