PARK RIDGE—Saturday, May 20 is designated a day of community service for more than 450 Rotary Clubs — 12,000 folks across five states and one country — who will volunteer for an unprecedented Rotary Day of Service.
The Rotary Club of Park Ridge, serving Park Ridge and Montvale, is looking forward to its Summer Food Pantry Stock Up Collection Drive benefiting the Tri-Boro Food Pantry, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, in Park Ridge.
Rotary clubs have been collecting clothes and food and providing housing for the homeless, refurbishing community parks, and cleaning up towns.
Park Ridge Rotary says, “With our children being home for summer recess, no SNAP benefits for lunches, the demand on families to put food on the table is astronomical, especially with cost of food these days. No less the demand on our local food pantries to keep up the pace in facilitating feeding the community – in some cases serving more than 150 families a week.”
The club adds, “The level of food insecurity for families in Bergen County with children aged 2–17 is almost 8%, which equates to 74,000 kids going hungry.”
With that in mind, The Rotary Club of Park Ridge is collecting pantry essentials for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. “In addition we are adding summer reading (books for ages 2–13; these can be slightly used) and backyard fun activity items.”
For the complete list find The Rotary Club of Park Ridge on Facebook.
The club says, “Here’s how to help us: Get behind the wheel and volunteer to help us make an impactful, fruitful summer stock up food drive. Launch a collection at your neighborhood, school, office, church, or other local organizations and businesses.”
The collection runs Monday, May 1 to Saturday, May 20. Help is also welcome on the day of the event: Saturday, May 20 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. All collections and donations are to be delivered to Tri-Boro Food Pantry, 65 Pascack Road, Park Ridge (rear parking lot of Pascack Reformed Church). For more information and to volunteer, write parkridgerotary@gmail.com or Terry at mstjc@verizon.net.