Here Comes South Jersey’s Most Important Virtual Cooking Competition!

Here Comes South Jersey’s Most Important Virtual Cooking Competition: Food Bank Hunger Games

By Zachary Ruhl

Did you know South Jersey’s most important cooking competition is going virtual this year – and it’s coming your way! On Thursday, September 24, 2020 at 7 p.m. South Jersey’s largest hunger-relief organization, the Food Bank of South Jersey, will host its annual Food Bank Hunger Games competition. This year, corporate team representatives will be challenged with recreating a decorative dessert. The team with the most votes will be named the winner – and that will be entirely up to the viewing audience – with donations equaling votes.

The competition is virtual, but still delicious!

• Event Host Katie Fehlinger will join Food Bank of South Jersey Youth Ambassador and recording artist CC Miles, Fred C. Wasiak, President and CEO of the Food Bank of South Jersey and Megan Shea, the organization’s Board of Trustees Chair in leading the enthusiasm, cheers and excitement during the competition, which supports the hunger-relief efforts of the Food Bank of South Jersey.
• For the Food Bank Hunger Games 2020, competing teams hitting the kitchen will include: Parts Life, Inc., Subaru,  Holman, Wells Fargo, Forman Mills, Virtua Health and Capehart Scatchard, with returning event sponsor, Canada Dry. Each team will be represented by one individual – with culinary chops and a heart of gold. Competitors will work feverishly, using only ingredients typically found at food distributions, to decorate a cake emulating a cake design inspired by the mission and community impact of the Food Bank of South Jersey.
• CC Miles will debut her latest original song, Mama Please Don’t Worry, a heartfelt message from a youth’s point of view addressing Food Insecurity, is an original song written and performed by Miles. This song is offered as a tender message of hope and love for those in need and those who help support through time and donation.
• Media partner of Food Bank Hunger Games 2020 is SJ Magazine.
• Food Bank Hunger Games 2020 sponsors include: Canada Dry, Wegmans, SJ Magazine, Battleship New Jersey, Federal Rent A Fence, Matt Blatt Mitsubishi, Parker McCay P.A. and State Farm.
• Donations will go to support the Food Bank of South Jersey’s hunger-relief efforts serving food-insecure individuals, children, families and seniors in Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Salem counties. Currently, the Food Bank of South Jersey is serving more than 95,000 people each and, since March 2020, has distributed over 9 million pounds of food – the equivalent of more than 7 million meals.

One big virtual cooking competition

The Food Bank’s Hunger Games event will be fully virtual, for the first time, therefore, viewers are more important than ever. The goal of this event is to continue to raise funds to meet the needs of South Jersey;s most food-insecure individuals, children, families and seniors. Here’s how viewers can help: watch, share and donate!

Watch

Great news! Viewers will be able to watch the live event on Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020. Supporters of this year’s Hunger Games will be able to access this live event for free, although they are encouraged to register at donate.foodbankSJ.org/hg20. Each team will have the opportunity to showcase their fans through videos as they compete to win the title of Food Bank Hunger Games 2020 champion. Fans will be seen cheering on their team, during the event – and stay tuned for a few surprises at kitchen capers take over!

Share

Fans and viewers can share the Facebook Live showing of the Food Bank Hunger Games to their social media pages. Their followers will see the link and can with every additional view, the opportunity to build donations rises. With eight teams competing, there is so much to view, share and enjoy!

Donate

Right now, the Food Bank of South Jersey is providing life-sustaining food resources to more than 95,000 people each month. With the help of Food Bank Hunger Games donations, more hunger-relief programs and services can be strengthened – to increase the organization’s capacity to serve. Every $3 donated equals one vote. Viewers can vote as much as they like, for as many teams as they like – throughout the entire event, and for a solid week following the event! The winner of Food Bank Hunger Games 2020 will be announced on October 1, 2020.

Zachary Ruhl is currently a senior at Rowan University. Here, he majors in advertising and double minors in strategic communications and art. He holds the role of a Multimedia Intern with the Food Bank of South Jersey where he works with a team to strengthen his media skills. Zachary will graduate in May of 2021 with dreams of landing a corporate communications role in either Philadelphia or New York City.