Oak Ridge, N.J. – December 23, 2022 – For the second year in a row, Lakeland Bank was the Title sponsor of the iHeart Media “Stuff the Bus” food collection program to benefit the Sussex County Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Social Services food pantry, which serves Sussex County residents in need. Both residents and businesses of the community generously support this annual county event. This year, the “Stuff the Bus” program collected a record-breaking 75,000 pounds of food and close to $5,000 in monetary donations.
According to county figures, since the first “Stuff the Bus” event was held in 2008, over one million pounds of food and over $100,000 has been donated to the Social Services food pantry.
All Lakeland branches in Sussex County were collection sites for the food drive and the highlight was the “Stuff the Bus” event held at the Sparta branch on November 18 when Lakeland associates and friends from RADIO Stations WSUS and WNNJ helped raise awareness of the food drive and provided entertainment.
“The Stuff the Bus campaign provides our team members with the opportunity to support those in need within our own community, especially during this time of year,” said Keith Niedergall, Senior Vice President, Northern Region Administrator. “Coming together at the Sparta branch to pack up all of the donations was very rewarding, and to see how the community rallied together to donate so much food was amazing.”
Many food pantries face high demand for their services and constantly work to keep the shelves stocked. The Social Services’ pantry located in Newton not only provides food to those in need for all county residents, it also helps to restock the food pantries throughout Sussex County.
Monetary and food donations are appreciated throughout the year and directly benefit residents of Sussex County. Individuals or families in need of food may go to the Division of Social Services, located at 83 Spring Street in Newton, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Caption: Stuffing the bus with all the donated items are Steve Allen, 102.3 WSUS DJ, Keith Niedergall, Anastasia Mishin, Marc DiPasquale and Lyndsay Wright from Lakeland Bank.
About Lakeland Bank
Lakeland Bank is the wholly-owned subsidiary of Lakeland Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:LBAI), which has over $10 billion in total assets. With an extensive branch network and commercial lending centers throughout New Jersey and Highland Mills, N.Y., the Bank has been offering business and retail banking products and services for over 50 years. Business services include commercial loans and lines of credit, commercial real estate loans, loans for healthcare services, asset-based lending, equipment financing, small business loans and lines, and cash management services. Consumer services include online and mobile banking, home equity loans and lines, mortgage options and wealth management solutions. Lakeland is proud to be recognized as New Jersey's #1 Best-In-State Bank by Forbes and Statista, named a Best Bank To Work For by American Banker and Best Companies Group, rated a 5-Star Bank by Bauer Financial and named one of New Jersey’s 50 Fastest Growing Companies by NJBIZ. Visit LakelandBank.com for more information.