Paterson pantry chief departing for new food security post in NJ government

PATERSON — Passaic County’s largest food pantry underwent dramatic changes in the five years that Mark Dinglasan was in charge.

The budget at the Paterson-based organization, known as CUMAC, grew by more than double to $2.4 million. The payroll increased from 18 full-time employees to 30. Under Dinglasan’s leadership, CUMAC spent about $350,000 on building renovations and new equipment, including a refrigerated truck for hauling perishables donated by supermarkets.

But Dinglasan doesn’t measure his impact at CUMAC with numbers. Instead, he pointed to the slogans painted on the wall, such as “Ending hunger has nothing to do with giving people food,” and talked about initiatives designed to treat CUMAC clients — whom the organization calls “guests” — with respect and dignity.

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Under Dinglasan, CUMAC stopped handing out prepacked bags of food and allowed clients to choose which items they wanted, just as if they were shopping at a supermarket. CUMAC also set up a benefit enrollment center at its Ellison Street complex, which helps pantry clients sign up for other services, such as health insurance, utility bill assistance and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly called food stamps.

“When you come here and need our help, we treat you as a person,” he said. “You can tell us what type of food you want, and you can tell us what type of help you need.”

Now Dinglasan is getting ready to leave CUMAC to take a newly created job in state government, director of the Office of the Food Security Advocate.

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“I am confident that under Mark’s leadership, we will make great strides in our ongoing commitment to end food insecurity by strengthening food assistance and providing support to communities across the state,” Gov. Phil Murphy said in announcing Dinglasan’s appointment this month.

Dinglasan said his last day at CUMAC will be Sept. 16. The nonprofit group's board likely will be conducting a national search for his successor, said Laura Purdy, CUMAC’s director of operations.

“It’s bittersweet,” said Purdy. “We all love Mark, but we understand why he’s going. He could change the face of what it’s like to feed people in the state of New Jersey.

“I don’t consider it losing an E.D. [executive director],” Purdy added. “I think we’re gaining a friend in Trenton.”

Dinglasan said that in his new job he would like to replicate some of the changes he has made at CUMAC at other food distribution programs in the state, and that he would like to make New Jersey's food distribution program a model for other places in the country.

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He acknowledged there are risks with the new position, partly because of its novelty. Murphy wanted to create a food security advocate office. But will New Jersey’s next governor have the same priorities?

Dinglasan will be taking about a 10% pay cut when he starts in the state job, which comes with a $120,000 annual salary.

“Community building always requires risks,” Dinglasan said of his decision to accept the state appointment. He noted that he and his wife have a young daughter.

“I want to make the world a better place for my child,” he said, before apologizing for sounding so idealistic. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I passed up this opportunity and didn’t try.”

Before he came to CUMAC in 2017, Dinglasan worked as an advocate for children in foster care in Chicago, and before that he was a lay missionary who helped build homes in the poorest parts of the Philippines.

As impoverished families struggle with inflation, CUMAC has seen its caseload soar this year by more than 50%, Purdy said. CUMAC, originally an acronym for Center of United Methodist Aid for the Community, now distributes food to 3,200 families per month.

People come to CUMAC from 49 municipalities in seven counties, with regular clients from as far west as Warren County and as far east as Hudson County, Purdy said.

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CUMAC’s roots go back to the 1970s, when Paterson schoolteacher Hugh Dunlap noticed that his students weren’t getting proper nutrition. He started collecting food donations from his Dumont church congregation and set up a closet-sized food pantry in Paterson. CUMAC was incorporated in 1985.

Now CUMAC’s leader is heading to Trenton, with the mission of developing new policy initiatives to combat hunger and facilitate greater access to food relief programs.

Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin talked about the groundbreaking nature of Dinglasan’s appointment.

“We were very intentional in crafting this office to oversee statewide anti-hunger efforts, break down silos and facilitate partnerships across all levels of government and organizations working in the food security space,” Coughlin said.

Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press.

Email: editor@patersonpress.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ pantry chief leaving for food security post with state