6,390 Miles. 72 Trips for Kids. 30 Trips for Nutrition. The impact of the four loaned vehicles by Subaru to the Food Bank of South Jersey supported vital hunger-relief efforts including child feeding programs and nutrition education. #SubaruLovesToHelp

In February, Subaru of America announced that as part of its ongoing partnership with Feeding America, the automaker would loan eight vehicles to member food banks local to Subaru’s Camden, NJ headquarters, Food Bank of South Jersey and Philabundance. For the Food Bank of South Jersey, the four vehicles loaned fast became vital in supporting organization’s service in distributing food throughout South Jersey.

“It has been our great honor to support communities struggling with hunger nationwide through our donation of 100 million meals to Feeding America, and we are happy to help out in our own backyard by loaning vehicles that enable our local food banks to serve their communities,” Thomas J. Doll, President and CEO, Subaru of America, reported at the time. “We hope these vehicles strengthen Food Bank of South Jersey and Philabundance as they strive to help those in our community who may face hunger during these difficult times.”

Strengthen They Did!

During their tour of service with the Food Bank of South Jersey starting February 16, 2021 until June 1, 2021, the four Subaru vehicles became an integral part of the hunger-relief organization’s activities. During the four months the four Subaru vehicles were fighting hunger with the Food Bank of South Jersey, the organization distributed nearly 7 million pounds of food – the equivalent of over 4 million meals of impact, with more than 1.3 million pounds of food distributed throughout South Jersey during May alone. The significant impact of the Subaru vehicles in the organization’s hunger-relief efforts focused on vital areas of service.

Driving Food, Nutrition & Support: Subaru’s generous donation enabled the organization’s Programs & Services team to strengthen programming. Summer Meals 2021 staff were able to add distribution sites thanks directly to the transport access provided by Subaru. Senior Nutrition staff were able to provide more efficient service to the organization’s older-adult populations. Additionally, program support trips to partner agencies and transport to direct service compliance projects, such as site trainings, were more easily accomplished, with special delivery services of emergency foods made possible for urgent situations.

100 Days of Service: The Subaru vehicles were in operation 100 days. Thanks to the Subaru Forester, Outback, Crosstrek, and Ascent, more than 6,390 miles of food and nutrition programs and services spanned from Willingboro to Glassboro, from Camden City to Berlin Borough, from Mount Holly to Deptford – thanks to Subaru, miles turned into meals.

72 Trips for Children: Mobile Café and child feeding programming serving Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Salem counties oversaw the deployment of more than 300,000 meals throughout South Jersey, with 72 trips directly impacting the orchestration and distribution of food for the region’s most food-vulnerable youths. From Browns Mills in Burlington County to the City of Salem in Salem County, Subaru championed the child feeding mission of the Food Bank of South Jersey.

Transporting Healthy Cooking: Thanks to Subaru, the Food Bank of South Jersey’s Health & Wellness team were able to transport food and program materials to produce the organization’s monthly healthy cooking television show, Hunger Bites. In total, the Health & Wellness team relied on the Subaru vehicles for support of Hunger Bites production, as well as community nutrition education programming and support, totaling over 30 trips – all providing South Jersey with healthy cooking strategies and nutrition and wellness education.

Delivering Meal Kits: Meal kits became increasingly common during the COVID pandemic. Delivered right to doorsteps, meal kits typically include all the ingredients and recipes – down to the seasonings and garnishes – for two or three meals. They’re a convenient, contactless way of getting healthy food. For the Food Bank of South Jersey, meal kits throughout the pandemic became a critical way to continue nutrition education and cooking classes – and provide South Jersey with healthy food – despite the challenges presented by the pandemic. Before COVID, the food bank hosted cooking classes at local schools and partner organizations. Instead of pausing the classes during the pandemic, the Health & Wellness team took the classes online. As part of the classes, participants received a contactless delivery of meal kits including all the recipes they learn and the ingredients needed to make those dishes. To make those deliveries, the Health & Wellness team leveraged the four Subaru vehicles – ensuring the food bank could continue its community outreach and education.

“The resounding partnership of Subaru and Feeding America is a deep statement to Subaru’s steadfast commitment to helping fight hunger across the country. We are humbled and grateful that Subaru continues its strong and gracious support and partnership with the Food Bank of South Jersey in helping us serve our communities,” reports Fred Wasiak, President and CEO, Food Bank of South Jersey. “The Subaru vehicles we utilized this year played an integral and essential role of our hunger-relief mission, and we are deeply appreciative for the food they have carried, nutrition education programming they supported and the strong capacity boost they gave us in our service to South Jersey’s most food-vulnerable communities.”

About Subaru of America, Inc.

Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered at a zero-landfill office in Camden, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 630 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. SOA is guided by the Subaru Love Promise, which is the company’s vision to show love and respect to everyone, and to support its communities and customers nationwide. Over the past 20 years, SOA has donated more than $190 million to causes the Subaru family cares about, and its employees have logged more than 40,000 volunteer hours. As a company, Subaru believes it is important to do its part in making a positive impact in the world because it is the right thing to do. For additional information visit media.subaru.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

About The Food Bank of South Jersey

Marking its 36th year in 2021, the Food Bank of South Jersey (FBSJ) is the leader in providing safe and nutritional food to people in need throughout South Jersey. FBSJ distributes food, provides nutrition education and cooking courses, and helps food-insecure families and seniors find sustainable ways to improve their lives. Providing community impact through local support, FBSJ ensures that local donations stay local. FBSJ is a member of Feeding America, our nation’s largest hunger-relief organization. During 2020, with COVID-19 bringing school closures, stay-at-home orders, record-breaking unemployment and rising poverty, FBSJ distributed more than 22.5 million pounds of food – the equivalent of over 18.7 million meals – throughout four-county region of impact, increasing its partner agency network to over 210 and serving over 95,000 food-insecure South Jersey residents each month, including the distribution of nearly one million nutritious breakfasts and lunches food-insecure South Jersey children. FBSJ is a Four Star Charity with Charity Navigator. To learn more, visit www.foodbanksj.org. On Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn, follow the Food Bank of South Jersey @foodbankSJ.