Community Foodbank of New Jersey - Spring 2007 Food Drive Champion

C.R. Bard of Murray Hill runs food drives for the Community FoodBank every year — sometimes even twice a year — and usually during the spring or summer when food drive donations often drop off and pantries are most in need. Their most recent effort resulted in a 77 percent increase over last year’s event. Asked how the change occurred, Food Drive Leader Loretta Young listed several motivational incentives, including a Guess the Weight contest and a FoodBank Honor Roll. The Honor Roll was a surprisingly strong competitive force where omitted names drew immediate inquiries, proving recognition counts!

C.R. Bard Food Drive Leaders, left to right: Betty Edwards, Loretta Young and Carolyn Hazelwood. Not shown: Natalie Bradley and Sandie Billy.

Perhaps most compelling marketing idea was an e-mail campaign to Bard employees showing a hypothetical budget for a working poor family trying to live on the minimum wage. This eye-opening budget drove home just how difficult it is for many full-time workers who regularly have to choose between paying their rent or buying food — or paying for any other necessities like utilities, medicine and child care.

This lesson in Hunger 101 was an inspiration to many and the FoodBank says Thank you to our friends at C.R. Bard for the food, volunteering and for raising awareness of what it means to be working but still poor in one of the most expensive states in the nation.