Ridge Students Collect 3,200 Pounds Of Food In 1st Foodstock Drive

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Basking Ridge’s first Foodstock donation drive has ended with 3,200 pounds of non-perishable food collected for local families.

The initiative was co-hosted by Ridge High School students Elise Asay, Cole Marshall and Nicole Zenchak, who brought the South Jersey-founded Foodstock NJ movement to Basking Ridge for the first time this summer.

The campaign concluded on Sept. 1, with a backyard music festival co-hosted by the three students.

Organizers said the music gathering had been a longstanding annual tradition among friends and that this year it also marked the end of the Foodstock drive and highlighted the community’s role in the collection effort.

Throughout August, student volunteers distributed collection bags door-to-door across Basking Ridge and invited residents to fill them with unopened, non-perishable food items for pickup.

All 3,200 pounds of collected food were delivered to the Food Bank Network of Somerset County to support area residents.

The drive comes as nearly 30,000 Somerset County residents face food insecurity, the same information states.

The closing of the Lyons Mall Stop & Shop has added urgency to local food assistance efforts, particularly for nearby veterans and senior citizens, according to the student-led initiative.

The broader Foodstock movement has collected more than 1.5 million pounds of food across New Jersey since it began.

"We are so grateful to everyone in Basking Ridge who filled a bag and supported our very first Foodstock drive," said the student co-organizers. "Seeing the community come together like this shows how much of an impact we can make when we work together to help our neighbors."

The Basking Ridge student team hopes to build on this year’s effort and make the neighborhood drive and music festival an annual townwide tradition.

The group described Foodstock’s mission as helping neighbors in need and spreading "peace, love, and food" throughout the community.

More information about Basking Ridge Foodstock or future student initiatives is available by emailing foodstockbaskingridge@gmail.com.