More than 1,500 Volunteers Package 150,000 Meals as Robbinsville Comes Together to Fight Hunger

ROBBINSVILLE, NJ – The greater Robbinsville community came together in a display of volunteerism on Saturday, as the ONE Project hosted the 2024 NJ Hunger Project at Robbinsville High School.

Nearly 1,500 volunteers packaged 150,624 meals to support food-insecure children across New Jersey, Amman Seehra, one of the event’s founders told TAPinto, adding that this was the ninth year of the effort, leading to a total of more than 850,000 meals being packed.

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As witnessed by TAPinto, the volunteers assembled Red Lentil Jambalaya meals, a nutritious and non-perishable dish crafted by nutritionists at U.S. Hunger. Comprising rice, red lentils, dehydrated vegetables sourced from U.S. farms, and pink Himalayan salt, these meals are designed to be both healthful and convenient for those in need.

The success of this initiative was made possible through the contributions of hundreds of local businesses, community organizations, and individuals, organizers said, including Amazon, the Food Champion Sponsor, whose donation funded 30,000 meals, Seehra said.

“Amazon is proud to partner with ONE Project in Robbinsville to help pack meals for our neighbors in need. We strive to be a good neighbor everywhere we call home, and with over 3,000 employees in Robbinsville, this seemed like a perfect way to do that,” Carley Graham Garcia, Head of Community Affairs for Amazon in New Jersey, stated. “In addition to making a donation for the second year in a row, this year, Amazon’s 60 volunteers are delighted to help ONE Project expand their great work.”

Robbinsville Township, through Mayor Dave Fried’s C.A.R.E. Pay it Forward Initiative, donated 6,000 meals and several members of the Robbinsville Fire Department answered the call to help put the packages together.

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The meals will be distributed by Mercer Street Friends Food Bank, focusing on summer feeding sites and the “Send Hunger Packing” program, part of Feeding America’s National BackPack Program. These initiatives aim to support low-income children in Mercer County who struggle to afford food outside of school.

The impact of this effort is profound, a statement distributed after the event said, especially considering that over 260,000 children in New Jersey, or 1 in every 8, are food insecure.

“While everyone is focusing on the meals for food-insecure children, we are also working to bring the community together and remind everyone that we all can make a big difference in the community,” ONE Project Board member Amy Scartocci said, emphasizing the dual goals of addressing hunger and fostering community unity.

Young people were prominent in the volunteer ranks, the ONE Project Youth Council spearheading efforts to make sure that their generation was represented in the effort.

“You never know what the downstream effects are and what other positivity this event will inspire among the 1,500 volunteers,” Simran Singh, a member of the Youth Council said.

“The work of the One Project is truly admirable, and something I always like to be involved in,” Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo who volunteered alongside his wife, Toni, and his Legislative colleagues, Senator Linda Greenstein and Assemblywoman Tennille McKoy said. “Fighting hunger is an issue that every one of us can get behind, doing what we can collectively to make sure every family has fresh and healthy meals on their table.”

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