Five ways the Food Bank of South Jersey helps feed our neighbors

Phaedra Trethan, Cherry Hill Courier-Post
·3 min read
A Food Bank of South Jersey team member works in the Pennsauken warehouse.
A Food Bank of South Jersey team member works in the Pennsauken warehouse.

The Food Bank of South Jersey will receive nearly $1 million from the federal omnibus funding package, money the Pennsauken-based nonprofit will use to increase its food delivery services and reduce its carbon footprint through the purchase of hybrid delivery vehicles.

U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross visited the Food Bank in Pennsauken on Tuesday to announce the funding. The First District Democrat noted that 1 of every 11 children in New Jersey faces food insecurity, and as the Food Bank reduces its fuel costs, it can increase its purchasing power, helping it better serve local food pantries, shelters, soup kitchens and other nonprofits as the cost of food continues to rise.

Food Bank CEO Fred Wasiak said the Food Bank notches more than 250,000 miles annually, delivering more than 15 million meals each year.

“But with the transition to hybrid vehicles, we will lessen our environmental impact as we continue to serve our communities,” he added. “Reduced fuel costs will also enable us to reinvest savings in programs and services to create a more equitable system of addressing nutrition and food insecurity in our region.”

Here are five ways the Food Bank of South Jersey helps feed our neighbors:

  • The Food Bank's new Structured Learning Work Experience program gives special needs students from Lenape Regional High School in Medford and Eastside High School in Camden a taste of working life. The students learn how to work with others as they inspect, categorize and box food for distribution. Currently a six-student cohort, the program may expand, said Food Bank marketing and communications manager Kori Rife.

  • Several programs to feed the area's children — especially when they aren't in school — through school pantries and other programs. The Food Bank of South Jersey offers kids in need snacks to take home with them after school and over the weekend, including easy-to-prepare or already-prepped meals. Last summer, the Food Bank distributed 100,000 meals through its summer programs, including camps, youth outreaches and mobile distributions in neighborhoods all over South Jersey.

  • Seniors in need also benefit from Food Bank programs. The Food Bank offers supplemental nutritional items to seniors through community and senior centers and food pantries, helping people on fixed incomes, Social Security and other assistance get through the last days of each month, when money tends to run out.

  • Not sure how to prep those healthy greens you resolved to eat in the New Year? Contemplating how to cook veggies so the kids will actually eat them? The Food Bank offers cooking and nutritional education virtually and on-site. If you opt for a Zoom cooking lesson, the Food Bank will provide a food box with all the ingredients so you can make it at home on your own. There are also tutorials on the Food Bank's website, with more to come.

  • The Food Bank isn't just about being full, it's about being healthy. There is a prevention program for people at risk of developing Type-2 diabetes. Community health workers are on staff as well, and coordinated COVID vaccine clinics, food safety training and other services. They can even help people connect with SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) if they need it. "How can we help people who we serve to make their lives better?" Rife said. "Issues like health care access, unemployment, affordable housing, and food insecurity are all interconnected. We approach sustainability in many ways by bringing people together in the community and connecting them to additional services."

To learn more about the Food Bank of South Jersey's programs, or to donate or volunteer, visit: https://foodbanksj.org/ , call 856-662-4884 or email info@foodbanksj.org.

Phaedra Trethan has been a reporter and editor in South Jersey since 2007 and has covered Camden and surrounding areas since 2015, concentrating on issues relating to quality of life and social justice for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. She's called South Jersey home since 1971. Contact her with feedback, news tips or questions at ptrethan@gannettnj.com, on Twitter @wordsbyPhaedra, or by phone at 856.486-2417.

Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: How will a federal grant help the Food Bank feed South Jersey?