Submitted by Carmela Moeller
Based on the resounding success of the End Hunger 3.6 Packaging Project of March 2018, the Rotary Club of Madison and the Madison Rotary Foundation announced that this year’s project will take place once again at the The Simon Forum at Drew University, Madison Avenue on Saturday, March 9, 2019 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This year’s goal is to surpass last year’s total of 160,000 meals, by packaging 250,000 meals. With the newly merged District 7475, a second packaging event will take place on March 30 at Raritan Valley Community College from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. to package 150,000 meals for a grand total of 400,000 meals. This is a Rotary District 7475-wide project which includes Berkeley Heights.
What does 3.6 represent? Every 3.6 seconds someone in the world dies of malnutrition or starvation. In Rotary District 7475, which encompasses 10 counties in north central and central New Jersey, it is estimated that over 300,000 men, women and children are food insecure. Over one million persons are living below the poverty level in New Jersey. Over the long term, prevention of food insecurity is likely to be more cost-effective in treating the consequences of this crisis.
The End Hunger 3.6 project is a community event involving volunteers packaging non-perishable, ready to cook meals, such as macaroni and cheese, rice and vegetables, minestrone, and apple cinnamon oatmeal. All food is vitamin enriched and GMO-free. The meals are distributed to soup kitchens and feeding stations throughout Rotary District 7475 as this is a district-wide project.
In order to purchase ingredients for packaging, donations and grants are required. Donations of $500 or more will be acknowledged in Rotary’s publicity materials. Contributions are tax deductible and can be made online or by mail to Madison Rotary Foundation, P.O. Box 211, Madison, NJ. 07940. Contributions for the March 30 event at Raritan Valley Community College may be sent to: Branchburg Rotary Club Foundation, P. O. Box 5135, Branchburg, NJ 08876. Both are 501(c)3 organizations.
A total of 800 volunteers are needed for the day of the event. Please register by March 5 on Madison Rotary Website: madisonrotarynj.org. For further information, contact Ellsworth Havens, Chair, at: ellsworthhavens@icloud.com (Madison) or Tulsi Maharian, RVCC event Chair at trmaharjan@gmail.com.
(above) A total of 800 volunteers are needed for each event. Volunteers come from all over New Jersey and beyond. Please register by March 5 on the Madison Rotary Website: madisonrotarynj.org.
