SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — It’s as much a tradition as the Super Bowl itself.
Each year in Washington Township, hundreds of students, teachers and volunteers prepare and sell thousands of Super Bowl Sunday hoagies to raise funds for needy families.
As with most in-person activities, the hands-on project, dubbed the Helping Hands Hoagie Sale, was on the verge of being sidelined due to COVID-19.
“(But) where there’s a will, there’s a way,” said Chad Vilotti, co-owner of Liscio’s Bakery.
At the 11th hour, event organizers were able to convince the sandwich-making pros at Liscio’s to step in. They agreed to donate a quarter of their Super Bowl Sunday hoagie sales to the fund.
“Knowing that we were gonna be making hoagies anyway,” Vilotti said, “if we can marry the two, it made a lot of sense.”
The bakery donated all the rolls to last year’s fundraiser. This year, it will be accepting orders and donations at its three locations — two in the township, one in Glassboro — now through Tuesday, Feb. 9:
3321 Route 42, Sicklerville
373 Egg Harbor Road, Sewell
124 S. Delsea Drive, Glassboro
“We have a QR code that we’re distributing,” added Charlie Doud, president of the Washington Township Education Foundation, which sponsors the event. “They’ll take your little scan and then 25% of all of the sales that they make off the hoagies or hoagie trays goes to our Helping Hands Hoagie Funds.”
The fund, now in its 27th year, typically raises between $40,000 to $55,000. Doud said nominations for recipients are still being accepted.