While the current state of the economy is leaving many Americans with little or nothing to eat, one ASU alumnus is doing his part to feed those in need and has recently been recognized for it.
Adam Lowy is one of five finalists nominated for the VH1 Do Something awards, an awards ceremony that recognizes those under 25 making a difference in their community. Lowy runs Move for Hunger, a moving company that delivers food to food banks across the nation.
“My family, here in New Jersey, has had a moving company for about 90 years,” Lowy said. “My great grandpa started it.”
Lowy has helped with the family business since he was young. He saw the quantity of non-perishable food items that those moving would leave behind and saw it as his opportunity to make a difference.
“I started talking to my father and uncles, who run the moving company here in New Jersey, and we figured we would start asking customers if they would be willing to put their un-opened non-perishable food to the side,” Lowy said.
Lowy and his family collected over 300 pounds of food in their first month.
Then he started Move for Hunger in 2009.
“Since then we’ve really grown from something started with my families moving company to work with over 150 movers in 34 states,” Lowy said. “We have collected over 325 thousand pounds of food for food banks across the country.”
On his first visit to his local food bank in Monmouth County, N.J., Lowy learned how pervasive hunger is. The food bank told Lowy that 125 thousand people in Monmouth do not have enough food to eat.
“In my head, we’re a wealthy beach community on the Jersey shore … So the fact that the need was so great and I never noticed it was one of those things that made me step back and really start to think,” Lowy said.
He hopes to have Move for Hunger active in 50 states by the end of the year. If Lowy were to win the VH1 Do Something awards, Move for Hunger would receive $100,000.
“I see the sky as being the limit for Move for Hunger,” Lowy said. “We want to work on developing a stronger internship program where we can work with young people who are in college or high school and help them gain some real world activities and do some social good.”
Lowy and Move for Hunger recently participated in the ASU Undie Run, where 3000 pounds of food was collected for Saint Mary's Food Bank.
DoSomething.org started the VH1 Do Something awards in 1996.
“Do Something is one of the largest national organizations for teens and young people, 25 and under, to (help) find the tools and resources they need to take action and make a real difference in their community,” said Amanda Ashton, Coordinator of Social Entrepreneurship at DoSomething.org
The awards will be televised on Aug. 18.
Reach the reporter at Ryan.McCullough@asu.edu
