Local Swim Team Collects Hundreds of Pounds of Food for Newark Pantry

Local swimmers helped those out of the pool this summer as they collected hundreds of pounds of food for a nearby food pantry. 

The Caldwell-West Caldwell Dolphins swim team donated 213 pounds of foodstuffs this summer which will go toward supplying St. John's Church food pantry in Newark. 

The donations were collected in cooperation with the nonprofit Swim For Food. Anne Clewell, who launched the nonprofit in New Providence, weighed the cans and foodstuffs at the entrance of Cedar Street Pool on Tuesday where they were collected as the Caldwells swim team competed against Madison. 

"I think this is fantastic," said Clewell, who has gotten swim teams throughout norther New Jersey to participate in the program. "These kids walk up and see all this food and they want to know what's going on and we tell them, 'It's beyond just swimming.'"

Clewell said norther New Jersey swim teams have raised more than 6,000 pounds of food this summer for Swim For Food. The nonprofit challenges teams to "compete" against one another to see who can donate the most food. 

"We are doing great," said Clewell, who added the nonprofit has seen a slow but steady rise in donations during the past few years. 

While Madison swim team beat out the Caldwells team and collected 244 pounds of food donations, Clewell said both teams are winners because "it's all for a good cause."

The next time you attend a swim meet this summer, look for Anne Clewell. She will be selling Swim For Food swimming caps for $5 at meets in norther New Jersey, of which $4 will go toward purchasing food for an under-privileged child at St. John's Church during the school year.