Foodstock Food Drive
At Honor Ridge Academy (HRA) teamwork provides food for those in need. HRA has a history of service in our community dating back to 2014. Food is collected using a variety of methods. The first is the usual contribution request using a donation bin located at the front door of the school. This is augmented by a unique food collection process that reaches out to the community. This process is a takeoff from the nonprofit organization Foodstock, Inc. that started out by reaching out to neighbors directly and collecting food door-to-door. The food drive at HRA is led by the staff and students of our Transition program. The teamwork starts there.
The first step in the process is printing a map of our target neighborhood with approximately 30 to 50 houses. Next, we make up donation bags with specific instructions including pick up day and rain date. The next step in the process is dropping the bags on the front porch of each house. The transition students then return to the neighborhood on the designated day and collect the food donations. The percentage of bags donated from each of the targeted neighborhoods are tabulated. The food is weighed and packed up and the results are tracked on an Excel spreadsheet for easy reference. This allows us to track specific neighborhoods and measure progress towards the class goals. The food is then delivered to the Community Foodbank of New Jersey in Hillside.
While this is the main source of donations, the HRA staff and the patrons of Saint Agnes church also make donations throughout the year which is added to the total. Prior goals of 500 pounds and then 750 pounds were met or exceeded in previous years. This year our goal was 1,500 pounds and that was surpassed by May of last school year. Our total pounds collected for the year was 1,684 lbs.That number was 12.26% over our goal of 1,500 lbs.
The transition class is grateful for the generosity of the Clark community with a special shout out to our neighbors in the vicinity of Lefforts Lane. They provided 12 donation bags in a neighborhood of 32 houses for a total of 156.4 pounds. They were our number one neighborhood for the year. Honorable mention and gratitude goes to the neighborhoods in the vicinity of Amelia Drive, Wendell Place and Ginesi Drive. Donations from Saint Agnes patrons and the HRA staff and students represent approximately 45% percent of the total. Thanks also goes to our maintenance staff for their assistance and the HR administration for their support and cooperation. Thanks to the Foodstock organization for creating the model, donating all of the bags used to collect food and for their inspiration and support.
So what’s next? We’ve started a collaboration with Multiplying Good, a nonprofit that promotes service to the community. Through their Students In Action program, we are dreaming of a bigger goal for this coming year. If you would like to contribute or assist, please be on the lookout for a food collection bag coming to you in the year to come, or reach out to us directly at transition@honorridge.org or just drive around to the back of St. Agnes church on Madison Hill Road and drop off your donation in the bin inside the lobby of the school.
Honor Ridge Academy is a New Jersey state-approved private school for students with disabilities who have a combination of behavioral, social, emotional, and learning disabilities. For more information visit www.honorridge.org.
