Food Bank of South Jersey Receives Fly Beyond® Key Issue Grant from The Wawa Foundation to Fight Hunger and Inspire Goodness with Food
PENNSAUKEN, NJ (July 18, 2024) – The Food Bank of South Jersey (FBSJ) – the area’s largest hunger-relief organization – is thrilled to announce that it has received a $100,000 “Fly Beyond” grant from The Wawa Foundation to help provide South Jersey youth with increased access to nutritious meal and snack options. The generous support will help the Food Bank bridge the summer meal gap and distribute more than 160,000 Summer Meals to kids throughout the region.
“South Jersey students lose access to vital free and reduced-price meals when schools let out each summer. That is a huge loss for families struggling to put enough food on the table,” said Fred Wasiak, President & CEO of the Food Bank of South Jersey. “However, thanks to incredible supporters like The Wawa Foundation, FBSJ and our partner agencies a can provide healthy meals and snacks to thousands of South Jersey kids across Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, and Salem counties.”
In total, The Wawa Foundation is awarding $1.5 million to 29 Fly Beyond Key Issue Grant recipients as part of a set of signature initiatives to make more fresh, nutritious meals available to youth and families through its food bank partners.
“The Fly Beyond key issue grant is a significant effort to fight food insecurity in our communities and will focus on programs emphasizing that good, nutritious food can build healthy habits, support the success of students and help them thrive,” said Elizabeth Simeone, President of The Wawa Foundation. “We were thrilled to support the Food Bank of South Jersey as they work to provide consistent access to nutritious and healthy meals for kids. By supporting these programs and our partners, we hope to inspire others, raise awareness and reach more youth to achieve their greatest potential. We are very excited to begin to share our Fly Beyond mission with our Food Bank partners.”
As a current community partner nonprofit of The Wawa Foundation, the Food Bank of South Jersey applied for a Fly Beyond Key Issue Grant during the March application period. The Wawa Foundation reviewed proposals and awarded grants based on fit within Fly Beyond criteria and goals, program reach and impact and size of Wawa market served.
About Wawa and The Wawa Foundation Fly Beyond Programs
Launched in 2023 with initial partner Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, Fly Beyond programs are supported by Wawa and The Wawa Foundation with the goal of fighting food insecurity at the community level. They are designed to inspire goodness and increase access to fresh, nutritious food and healthy meals for underserved youth through Wawa’s Feeding America food bank partners. Fly Beyond connects all programs focused on this core issue to enable measurements, foster communication and drive solutions. In addition to the Second Harvest program and this key issue grant program, the Fly Beyond initiative also includes “Buy a Kids Meal, Make an Impact.” Running from March through July, for every Wawa Kids Meal sold, Wawa will donate $0.33 of the profits to a local food bank partner, which is the equivalent of one meal for food bank partners.
ABOUT FOOD BANK OF SOUTH JERSEY
The Food Bank of South Jersey believes that no one should go to bed hungry. Since 1985, it has served the children, families and seniors of Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Salem counties by distributing safe and healthy food, providing nutrition education and cooking courses, and developing sustainable pathways for neighbors to improve their lives. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and member of Feeding America, FBSJ distributed more than 18 million meals in 2023, through direct distributions and its network of more than 200 partner agencies. For more information, visit FoodBankSJ.org.
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