Donate Food at Verona-Cedar Grove Stores This Sunday

Two supermarkets in Verona and Cedar Grove will join the fight against hunger Sunday as part of the 21st annual Action Against Hunger food drive.

Donations can be made to the North Jersey Media Group Foundation's drive between noon and 4 p.m. at Kings, 265 Pompton Ave. in Verona and Super Foodtown, 597 Pompton Ave. in Cedar Grove.

“We have participated in the past and collected quite a few pounds of products and filled three of our carts,” said Ray Frazer, store manager of Kings Supermarket in Verona. “I think we are going to do very well again, people are very generous around here.”

"We've had great success with the program," said Michael Buck, Super Foodtown store manager. "We've had huge turnouts where you could have filled the back of a pickup truck with product."

Action Against Hunger is the largest food drive in the metropolitan area, serving 65 pantries that assist 40,000 people.

"In all my years of food banking, I have never seen a time as challenging as this one," said Kathleen DiChiara, president and CEO of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, in a statement. "Drives like Action Against Hunger help real people who have to make choices between paying rent and buying food, and no one should have to make that choice."

The most needed items include nonperishable nutritious foods like:

• Canned vegetables, meats, fish, fruits
• Hearty soups and stews
• Pasta
• White and brown rice
• Peanut butter
• Enriched cereal
• Oatmeal
• Pancake mix
• Powdered or evaporated milk
• 100 percent fruit juice
• Baby formula
• Low-sugar and low-sodium foods for those with special dietary needs

Organizers ask that no glass containers or outdated items be donated.

Tax deductible cash donations can be made online at actionagainsthunger.com or mailed to North Jersey Media Group Foundation, c/o Legal Department, PO Box 75, Hackensack, NJ 07602-9192.

"This year, we are appealing to everyone to step up their giving-game even more by organizing a neighborhood pick-up, bringing canned goods to a party for the host to donate, or initiating a food drive within your house of worship, civic group or work to support the cause," said Jennifer Borg, vice president and general counsel of North Jersey Media Group and president of the North Jersey Media Group Foundation, in a statement. "In addition to increasing personal giving, helping us increase the donor pool can provide a big boost for the cause."