Morristown 'Adopts' Move for Hunger

Many of us have moved at least once in our lives. Some have moved, and dealt with the headaches of moving, more times than we'd care to remember.

Amidst that trial, it's easy to barrel ahead toward the goal as fast as possible. Something like that leftover food in the fridge, in the cupboard, isn't really that important—you'll restock when you settle into your new place.

But, like snow, that adds up. One flake is imperceptible. Many, and you've got a blizzard.

When Adam Lowy founded Move for Hunger in Neptune three years ago, he saw how much food was being wasted, food that could be saved for those who need it. And Lowy's Moving Service—his family's business, which has operated in the Monmouth County area for about 90 years—could serve as the go-between.

At Tuesday night's Town Council meeting, Lowy formally introduced a partnership between his organization and Morristown, which is "adopting" Move for Hunger.

"It's the first town in the nation," said Lowy who, after three years, has developed relationships with about 600 food "relocation partners" in 44 states. "Hopefully, this is something we will be able to replicate nationwide."

During his presentation, Lowy outlined how Move for Hunger works. "People throw out tons of stuff. Now, we're going to pick up that food and bring it to our food banks," he said. 

The connection was made when Adam's brother Max, Move for Hunger's real estate program director, made contact with Mayor Tim Dougherty's wife Mary, who also works in real estate through a New Jersey Relocation Council event.

"They talked about projects that can make the town better," Adam Lowy said. "She was incredibly enthusiastic. We did a lot of research and heard a lot of great things about Morristown. It made sense to launch here."

Move for Hunger collaborated in August with East Hanover-based College Hunks Hauling Junk, as well, for a benefit concert held on the Green.

Currently in its infancy, Mary Dougherty said Move for Hunger's Morristown collaboration already was picking up food that can then be dropped off at local food banks.

However, she said she expected everyone involved to get back together after the holidays to set up specific drop-off locations in town in order to make the giving that much easier. Information, such as site locations, was expected to be on both the Move for Hunger and Town of Morristown websites as it becomes available.

"It's the beginning of hopefully a very long partnership," Tim Dougherty said. "I hope a lot of other towns sign up for this."

At the conclusion of a brief video—which was viewed at the NBC American Giving Awards, where Move for Hunger received a $125,000 grant for its work—Lowy notes the organization had collected over 360,000 pounds of food since they began. And, that number has only gone up since the video was made almost a year ago. To date, Move for Hunger has collected over 843,000 pounds of food.

"This is something that can be done every single day," he said. "Let's do something powerful together."