Letter to the Editor: Our Local Food Pantries Need Help Now

Dear Editor and Residents,

Why wait for Thanksgiving? Our local food pantries need help now!

After reading several articles in the local newspapers and online web sites, donations to our local food pantries have slowed significantly since the economic downturn.  Many more people are jobless and have never needed benefits before. They’re finding themselves having to seek help for food to feed their families.

According to the Community Food Bank of NJ, in the last two years, they have seen a 40 percent increase in need – forcing their distribution to skyrocket from 23 to 27 million pounds of food per year.  Also, 43 percent percent of the people who receive food from the Community Food Bank of NJ are children and 10 percent are elderly. Eighteen percent of clients with children said that their children sometimes skipped meals because there was not enough money for food during the previous 12 months.

To do our part, I am organizing a Food Drive here in town to collect food for our local pantries.  I do not want to wait until the holiday season because no child should go to school or to bed hungry!

I’d like to encourage all Union and Morris County residents to participate… every little bit helps those in need.

Please stop by my office, Allegra & Company, located 309 South St. in New Providence, with your canned goods and non-perishable items.  We will be taking donations starting NOW through Thanksgiving.  Donations will be delivered to the Community Food Bank of NJ as well as some other local charities in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.

We are requesting the following items:

• rice
• peanut butter
• jelly/jams
• canned soups
• canned vegetables
• instant potatoes
• canned fruit
• syrup
• boxed pancake mix
• evaporated milk
• Parmalat milk
• ketchup
• mustard
• soy sauce
• beans
• boxed pasta
• pasta sauce
• instant oatmeal
• tea bags
• canned tuna
• vegetable oil
• cake mix & frosting
• Jell-O

For more information, please call me at (908) 665-1696.  Together, we can make a difference! 

Thank You for your support!

Sincerely,

David Allegra, CPA, CFP®

President

Allegra & Company

309 South Street

New Providence, NJ 07974

Phone: 908-665-1696

Fax: 908-665-9693

www.allegraandcompany.com