Scout, Borough Groups Plan Town-Wide 'Feast-ival' Food Drive

A veritable army of Rose City volunteer organizations are marshalling their forces under the direction of a local student to help fight hunger.

At the most recent Borough Council meeting, Madison Mayor Mary-Anna Holden proclaimed September as "Hunger Action
Month" in Madison.

The Rose City “Feast-ival” will involve a number of local organizations including Boy Scout Venture Crew 77, Boy Scout Troop 7, , , the , , and the Park Avenue Club, all of which will be assisting Eagle Scout candidate Dan Collins in implementing a town-wide food drive.

The drive will benefit the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, which annually aids more than 900,000 state residents by distributing almost 40 million pounds of food and other groceries—a 45% increase since 2007.

The month-long food drive will have three parts, according to the borough:


On August 27, incoming students from Drew will canvass residential streets of Madison between noon and 5 p.m., collecting food and distributing information to educate residents about the issue of hunger in New Jersey and the Madison Hunger Action Month Program. To donate food, residents should place bags of non-perishable food on their doorstep on August 27, in bags marked “Madison Food Drive.” The borough asks that residents refrain from donating food in glass jars or cellophane packaging.

The second phase will encompass a series of weekly mini-drives, where drop-offs will be encouraged for residents who want to participate during the month. Current locations being discussed include the high school, the YMCA, the Park Avenue Club, Drew and FDU.

The "Feast-ival" will culminate Oct. 1 with a collection during the Bottle Hill Day celebration when VC-77 will set up in front of the old fire truck bay doors at . More details will follow.

Collins’s goal is to collect 100,000 pounds of food, and to have the event become the foundation for an annual drive in the Madison area.


For more information, email madisonfooddrive@gmail.com.