WEST ORANGE, NJ — The sixth annual Gregory neighborhood food drive continued its tradition of record-breaking grocery collections for the Holy Trinity-West Orange Food Pantry and community relationship building on Dec. 11.
Approximately 5,000 pounds of nonperishable grocery items were donated by more than 300 families in the Gregory neighborhood. The food drive began in 2010 and was put together by former Gregory resident Ethan Stambler. Resident Amy Hains took over three years ago and hasn’t looked back.
A website was created to provide information and sign up, and 50 volunteers spread out across the Gregory area to hand out fliers and sort food into crates and boxes located at Hains’ house. Several families drove over to the food pantry and helped to unload and unpack the truckload of donations.
This year’s committee was comprised of Hains, Sarah Shick, Elizabeth Redwine, Kathy Fifield and Dawn Pemberton.
“Because we have refined our process so much, it is a relatively easy event to plan,” Hains said in a press release. “This year we increased our marketing on social media by posting articles on food insecurity in America. For our own family, we have made community service an important part of our values. We talk all the time to the kids about helping others and that all it takes to make a difference is to make an effort.”
“We never expected this much food,” food pantry administrator Cynthia Cumming said in the release. “Every year the Gregory neighborhood donates more food than the year before. Their donation is very important to us because it helps us through the winter months and reminds us what a wonderful and generous community we live in.”
Gregory resident Christel Murdock handmade 75 stockings and filled them with items for the pantry’s senior citizens.
“The stockings were a labor of love by Christel,” Cumming said. “It is such a special treat for our seniors.”
The St. Cloud neighborhood has begun their own summer food drive, and their second year also saw an increase in donations.
“I’m so thankful for the many volunteers who come back every year to help — and for all the volunteers at the food pantry who help on the day of the food drive. It really is a great community building event,” Hains said.
To donate to the Holy Trinity-West Orange Food Pantry or to find out more about starting a food drive in your neighborhood, contact Cynthia Cumming at heidlercumming@aol.com.
Photos Courtesy of Cynthia Cumming
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