Bergen Regional Collecting Food for ‘Snack Pack’ Program
By Mel Fabrikant Tuesday, February 02, 2010, 06:48 PM EST
Program to help children who receive free school meals eat nutritiously on weekends
Bergen Regional Medical Center (BRMC) is participating in the Weekend Snack Pack Program, a project of the Center for Food Action in Englewood, NJ, created to help children who receive free or reduced priced school meals get adequate nutrition on the weekends and holiday breaks
“This important program helps ensure that children who receive a healthy meal while in school can have nutritional food when they’re not in school as well,” said Joseph S. Orlando, president of Bergen Regional Medical Center.
Bergen Regional employees are participating in the program, and it is open to the public to contribute as well.
To do so, put together a “snack pack” that includes two of each non-perishable food category: fruits and vegetables (100% Juice Boxes, applesauce cups, raisins, etc.); dairy (pudding cups, shelf packaged milk); grains (small boxes of cereal, granola bars, etc.), and proteins (tuna or canned chicken, individual cans of ravioli, single serve soups, mac and cheese). The packs should be individually packaged, small and light enough to carry and contain no glass jars. “Snack Packs” can be brought to Bergen Regional Medical Center at 230 East Ridgewood Avenue in Paramus, New Jersey.
About the program:
The Weekend Snack Pack Program originated over 10 years ago when a school nurse noticed that some of the students were arriving to school on Monday mornings with headaches, dizziness, stomach aches and fatigue. She noticed that these were the same students who were receiving free or reduced lunches. The nurse reached out to a local food pantry to organize a way to provide these students with nutritious weekend snacks. Today there are currently 118 Feeding America Groups across the United States facilitating more than 2,200 Snack Pack Programs that serve more than 90,000 children each year.
About BRMC: Located at 230 East Ridgewood Avenue in Paramus, NJ, Bergen Regional Medical Center provides a comprehensive set of quality services including Long Term Care, Behavioral Health Care and Acute Care to the Bergen County community and is a safety net provider for the mentally impaired, elderly, uninsured or underinsured for the State of New Jersey. Bergen Regional is both the largest hospital with 1,070 beds and the largest licensed nursing home in New Jersey. Additionally, with 323 beds, Bergen Regional is one of the largest medical resources providing a continuum of care for the behavioral health community. Bergen Regional has a full service emergency department, state of the art operating suites and 21 ambulatory specialty services available through the BRMC clinic. For general hospital information, call 201.967.4000 or visit www.bergenregional.com.
Bergen Regional Medical Center (BRMC) is participating in the Weekend Snack Pack Program, a project of the Center for Food Action in Englewood, NJ, created to help children who receive free or reduced priced school meals get adequate nutrition on the weekends and holiday breaks
“This important program helps ensure that children who receive a healthy meal while in school can have nutritional food when they’re not in school as well,” said Joseph S. Orlando, president of Bergen Regional Medical Center.
Bergen Regional employees are participating in the program, and it is open to the public to contribute as well.
To do so, put together a “snack pack” that includes two of each non-perishable food category: fruits and vegetables (100% Juice Boxes, applesauce cups, raisins, etc.); dairy (pudding cups, shelf packaged milk); grains (small boxes of cereal, granola bars, etc.), and proteins (tuna or canned chicken, individual cans of ravioli, single serve soups, mac and cheese). The packs should be individually packaged, small and light enough to carry and contain no glass jars. “Snack Packs” can be brought to Bergen Regional Medical Center at 230 East Ridgewood Avenue in Paramus, New Jersey.
About the program:
The Weekend Snack Pack Program originated over 10 years ago when a school nurse noticed that some of the students were arriving to school on Monday mornings with headaches, dizziness, stomach aches and fatigue. She noticed that these were the same students who were receiving free or reduced lunches. The nurse reached out to a local food pantry to organize a way to provide these students with nutritious weekend snacks. Today there are currently 118 Feeding America Groups across the United States facilitating more than 2,200 Snack Pack Programs that serve more than 90,000 children each year.
About BRMC: Located at 230 East Ridgewood Avenue in Paramus, NJ, Bergen Regional Medical Center provides a comprehensive set of quality services including Long Term Care, Behavioral Health Care and Acute Care to the Bergen County community and is a safety net provider for the mentally impaired, elderly, uninsured or underinsured for the State of New Jersey. Bergen Regional is both the largest hospital with 1,070 beds and the largest licensed nursing home in New Jersey. Additionally, with 323 beds, Bergen Regional is one of the largest medical resources providing a continuum of care for the behavioral health community. Bergen Regional has a full service emergency department, state of the art operating suites and 21 ambulatory specialty services available through the BRMC clinic. For general hospital information, call 201.967.4000 or visit www.bergenregional.com.
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