Politics & Government

Virtua Supporting Furloughed Federal Workers With Food Drive

The health system will hold an emergency food drive, and its mobile farmers market will provide free bags of produce during the shutdown.

Virtua is offering furloughed government employees two opportunities to get food as the longest government shutdown in American history continues.

Virtua is asking its 9,000 employees to donate canned food to help people urgently in need, the health care system announced. It is also offering free produce to federal employees through its Mobile Farmers Market program.

The emergency food drive, which will provide donated items to the Food Bank of South Jersey, will run through Friday, Jan. 25. Needed items include canned vegetables, canned fruit, canned tuna, and canned chicken.

Find out what's happening in Gloucester Townshipfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Virtua is asking employees to drop off donations at its corporate headquarters in Marlton, among other Virtua locations. Members of the public who wish to support the effort are encouraged to donate to the Food Bank directly.

“Many families are starting to miss paychecks and are now facing difficult choices to make ends meet. A key part of Virtua’s mission is to help people access food and good nutrition, so this food drive is a direct and meaningful way we can support our neighbors,” Virtua Assistant Vice President of Business Development and Community Health Engagement Suzanne Ghee said.

Find out what's happening in Gloucester Townshipfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Additionally, the Virtua Mobile Farmers Market will provide a free bag of produce per week to any federal government employee who shows a valid employee ID/badge. The mobile market visits multiple communities each week, with upcoming stops including Westampton, Camden, and Sicklerville.

Image via Shutterstock.

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.