TABLE TO TABLE IS AWARDED $25,000 “MARK OF DISTINCTION” GRANT BY MARKHAM VINEYARDS

August 2008 – Table to Table, northeast New Jersey’s only dedicated food rescue program, has been named a recipient of a $25,000 grant from Markham Vineyards. The first-ever “Mark of Distinction” grants award funding for programs that empower individuals to make positive, tangible change across America. Table to Table board member Chuck Russo, owner of Carlo Russo’s Wine & Spirit World in Ho Ho Kus, applied for the grant on behalf of Table to Table.

Following an April call for entries, Markham received hundreds of proposals, narrowing the field to ten candidates in July. Online voting determined two grant recipients in late July. In his grant appeal, Russo cited record high food prices, coupled with rising fuel costs – “the lifeblood of our organization” – to draw a compelling picture of Table to Table’s food rescue mission. “The cost of food has risen to its highest rate in two decades,” says Russo. “The situation is devastating for those living on the economic edge.”

“Table to Table has become one of the most essential services in our communities,” says Claire Insalata Poulos, founder of the food rescue organization. “This prize will further our mission to collect prepared and perishable food that would otherwise be discarded and deliver it, free of charge, to organizations that serve the hungry in Bergen, Hudson, Passaic and Essex counties. This year, we will deliver enough food to serve more than six million meals. ”

Table to Table receives no government funding and, instead, relies solely on funding from private and corporate donations. Numerous northern New Jersey individuals, businesses and organizations contribute to Table to Table’s success. Table to Table is the only dedicated food rescue program in northeast New Jersey. Every day, the hunger relief agency collects fully cooked entrees, fresh produce and meats, dairy products and other perishables that would normally be discarded, and safely delivers them, free of charge, to soup kitchens, homeless shelters and other social service agencies in Bergen, Passaic, Essex and Hudson counties.

For more information about Table to Table, call (201) 444-5500.