Thanks To Subaru: $21,251 Subaru Loves To Help Grant Improves Food Bank of South Jersey Headquarters

Food Bank of South Jersey Expands and Upgrades Essential Operational Facilities Thanks to Subaru Loves to Help Grant

PENNSAUKEN, NEW JERSEY – Thanks to $21,251 awarded to the Food Bank of South Jersey by the Subaru Loves to Help Grant, South Jersey’s largest hunger-relief organization upgraded and expanded operational facilities, including the organization’s food donation sorting room and supportive food management resource areas – enabling the organization to increase sorting capacity and upgrade its volunteer facilities in its mission to feed South Jersey.

The Food Bank of South Jersey, a member of the Feeding America network of national food banks and the largest hunger-relief organization serving Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Salem counties, during 2020 and throughout this year expanded the capacity of its essential sorting room at its Pennsauken headquarters thanks to Subaru’s generosity. This crucial expansion resulted in the need for new flooring and enhanced volunteer and team flooring and support facilities to accommodate the organization’s day-to-day food management, sorting, storage and distribution efforts.

Subaru Loves to Help

Subaru’s contribution to the Food Bank of South Jersey funded a much-needed flooring project, upgrading the organization’s flooring in multiple areas, including its sorting room, as well as vital team areas. The needed enhancements fortified the organization’s facilities, enabling for a deeper and more productive, experience for team members, as well as volunteers, working tirelessly to sort, transport and manage food resources.

“Thanks to Subaru, we were able to efficiently address the priority of expanding our sorting room, which was a vital operational capacity concern during the early days of responding to the food-insecurity spike due to the pandemic,” reports Fred C. Wasiak, President and CEO of the Food Bank of South Jersey. “The expansion of our sorting room greatly increases our capacity to fulfill our mission in feeding South Jersey’s most food-vulnerable communities. Additionally, we were also able to improve our volunteer facilities, with new flooring and upgraded safety and security resources, to bolster our operations, as well as welcome our devoted volunteers.”

During 2020, the Food Bank of South Jersey has distributed over 22.5 million pounds of food, the equivalent of over 18.7 million meals, to more than 95,000 people each month struggling with food insecurity throughout South Jersey.

Through the Subaru Love Promise, Subaru and its retailers across the country made a donation to provide 50 million meals to Feeding America. This action, called Subaru Loves to Help, makes meals available at local food banks across the country. In addition, Subaru retailers are working to see how else they can help these local food banks, including food drives, donations and volunteer events.

The Subaru of America Foundation was established in 1984 with the goal of supporting the communities where the organization lives and works. Today, Subaru is proud to report it has awarded over $9 million through grants, scholarships and matching employee gifts to various programs.

ABOUT 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.

Throughout 2019, FBSJ distributed over 15 million pounds of food, more than 230,000 summer meals and over 17,500 senior food boxes, as well as serving 95 health and wellness programs to more than 11,700 residents. 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 to more than 30,000 food-insecure South Jersey children. To learn more, visit www.foodbanksj.org. On Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn, follow the Food Bank of South Jersey @foodbankSJ.