UNION COUNTY, NJ — New Jersey Department of Agriculture Secretary Douglas Fisher announced Nov. 18 that $10 million from American Rescue Plan State Fiscal Recovery Funds is being distributed to emergency feeding organizations throughout the state. The funds were provided to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture through a memorandum of understanding with the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs and will be allocated through The Emergency Food Assistance Program.
The amount given to each of the six emergency feeding operations is based on the number of people they serve. The Community FoodBank of New Jersey received $5.3 million; the Food Bank of South Jersey received $1.5 million; Fulfill received $1.5 million; Mercer Street Friends received $1.1 million, NORWESCAP received $300,000, and the Southern Regional Food Distribution Center received $300,000.
“These funds come at an important time for each of the emergency feeding organizations and will allow more food-insecure New Jersey residents to have access to nutritious meals,” Fisher said. “Food banks play an essential role in providing a reliable source of food to so many communities throughout the state.”
The NJDA’s TEFAP program currently serves an average of nearly 1 million residents per month.
This $10 million is in addition to the $35 million allocated to food banks through the COVID relief fund and money the state has distributed through food and hunger programs as part of the Murphy administration’s pandemic response.
The Community FoodBank of New Jersey has locations in Hillside in Union County and Egg Harbor Township in Atlantic County, and works with a network of more than 1,000 partner agencies to serve 15 of New Jersey’s 21 counties, including Bergen, Cape May, Cumberland, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex and Warren; Fulfill is based in Neptune and serves Monmouth and Ocean counties; the Food Bank of South Jersey is in Pennsauken in Camden County and also serves Burlington, Gloucester and Salem counties; Mercer Street Friends is in Ewing in Mercer County; NORWESCAP is located in Phillipsburg in Warren County and also serves Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset and Sussex counties; and the Southern Regional Food Bank is in Vineland and serves Cumberland County.
Photo Courtesy of NJ Department of Agriculture