Newton - The Sussex One Stop Career Center of the N.J. Dept. of Labor participated with other agencies and groups in the June 6 food drive for NORWESCAP’s “Sort-A-Thon” at their Community Food Bank in Phillipsburg. Staff members Mary Ellen Birchenourgh and Donna Ascencio coordinated the local food drive effort in the Newton office, gathering some 1,000 pounds of canned goods and other foods. Also participating in the effort were staff members and a number of unemployed consumers. The food was delivered by the One Stop administrator Bill Weightman, a board member of NORWESCAP, a five-county anti poverty and community action program. At the Food Bank in Phillipsburg, the canned goods and other food products from community donations were sorted by more than 130 volunteers, including Weightman. NORWESCAP supplies some 120 food pantries, nutrition sites, senior citizen programs, and others. In a given year, that can mean as much as two million pounds of food for in need. Many of the 131 volunteers at the Sort-A-Thon were from Sussex County. Some volunteers log more than 7,000 hours a year for NORWESCAP, helping to raise funds and to keep costs down. Statistics show that 41 percent of those utilizing a food bank are working full-time, but are not making ends meet, and one in five children are living in poverty situations.