PLUMSTED – While one man’s trash may be another man’s treasure, one teenager’s plan to turn scrap metal into donations for a food bank has paid dividends.
More than 40 people participated in the Scrap Hunger Walk-a-Thon at Christian Brothers Academy, Lincroft, on Oct. 24 and raised about $2,455 for the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties.
Dominick Esposito, 15, of Plumsted, a CBA student who created the event, said the idea for the walk came after he collected scrap metal for months as part of his Scrap Hunger Inc. initiative.
“I wanted to help people who were struggling to keep food on the table and I wanted to encourage residents and businesses to properly recycle scrap metal,” he said. “I believe we all have an opportunity to make a difference, to help improve the lives of others [and] to scrap hunger.”
Dominick said the idea for Scrap Hunger began when he was working on an environmental project in the seventh grade. He said he realized many business owners and residents were not recycling their scrap metal.
After superstorm Sandy left destruction in its wake in 2012, Dominick said, he decided he wanted to turn scrap metal into a second chance for people in need.
“People who were once food bank donors had become food bank recipients,” the young man said. “I have always been interested in protecting the environment and I wanted to help those who were struggling, so it just made sense to put the two ideas together.”
Dominick visited Price’s Auto Recyclers in New Egypt to learn how scrap metal can be turned in for cash. He then set out to create Scrap Hunger.
Since then, Dominick said, he has received donations of all kinds of scrap metal, from keys and car batteries to boats, trailers and household appliances.
Dominick said he schedules pickups during the weekend so the work does not interfere with school and so his parents or grandparents can drive him to the pickup locations.
He takes what he collects to Price’s Auto Recycling, where the scrap metal is weighed and sold at market value.
Since Scrap Hunger was created, more than 42,000 pounds of scrap metal has been collected, Dominick said. The effort has raised nearly $7,000 for the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties.
According to Linda Keenan, the development director at the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, that money will result in more than 21,000 meals being provided to people who need assistance.
“Dominick is an amazing young man,” Keenan said. “He is certainly inspiring when you think that this is very hard work.”
This year, Keenan said, the Foodbank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties is providing emergency food and services to one in 10 residents in the two counties, or more than 131,000 people (including more than 40,000 children).
“There is no holiday from hunger, so what is great about Dominick’s program is that he makes donations all year,” Keenan said. “His program is not seasonal and those donations make a great impact for the families we serve.”
Dominick thanked the men, women and children who attended his Oct. 24 walk at CBA and raised money for a charitable cause.
“I am inspired by the walkers, sponsors and volunteers who decided to help end hunger in our communities,” he said.
— Contact Andrew Martins at [email protected]