RELEASE: October 23, 2003

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McGreevey Releases $1.5 Million for Hunger Relief
Provides Food Banks with Significant Funding on World Food Day

(TRENTON) -- To help serve the growing numbers of New Jerseyans who need emergency food, the State will provide six regional food banks with $1.5 million, the McGreevey Administration announced today. The funding was announced in conjunction with World Food Day at a press conference organized by the New Jersey Anti- Hunger Leaders, a broad coalition of anti-hunger advocates.
“We’re helping our food banks put warm meals in front of those who most need them this winter,” said Governor James E. McGreevey. “Our Administration is committed to ensuring the health and well-being of our most vulnerable citizens, who need food and proper nutrition.” The funding, which will come from the Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Act of 2001, was recommended by the Hunger Prevention Advisory Committee, a panel appointed by the Governor to oversee a needs assessment of the state's emergency food programs and advise the
Department of Human Services (DHS). The committee, which includes representatives of various state departments, agencies providing emergency shelter and feeding programs, and the general public, recommended the release of $1.5 million of the funds appropriated under the act. The act provided a total of $5 million. Nearly $1 million was distributed in prior years. Today’s release of $1.5 million for the state’s food banks leaves about $2.5 million of the appropriation remaining. The committee will make recommendations on distributing those funds in the future.
“People are hurting in this economy, and this is something we can do right now to help ease the pain,” said DHS Commissioner Gwendolyn L. Harris, who presented a check for $1.5 million for emergency food at the press conference.
The regional food banks that will share the newly released funds are: Community Foodbank of New Jersey; Community Foodbank - Southern Branch; Food Bank of South Jersey; Foodbank of Monmouth and Ocean counties; Mercer Street Friends Food Cooperative; NORWESCAP Foodbank.
New Jersey’s Anti- Hunger Leaders called the press conference to release their “Blueprint to End Hunger in New Jersey,” a report that outlines a series of recommended federal and state actions to increase funding and availability of hunger assistance programs.
Governor McGreevey pledged to consider the state initiatives recommended in the blueprint. He also praised the work of the hundreds of New Jersey soup kitchens, food pantries and special programs that help feed the hungry throughout the state.
Voicing the Administration’s broad based support for programs that raise awareness and address the hunger crisis, Agriculture Secretary Charles Kuperus and Secretary of State Regena Thomas joined Commissioner Harris and the Coalition at the event.
“Hunger is not a black issue or a white issue. It is not a Republican issue or Democrat issue. It is an issue that impacts all people, and it is going to take all of us to address it,” said Secretary Thomas. “I am proud that the Department of State, through the Office of Faith Based Initiatives and AmeriCorps, is able to support programs and provide services that help to alleviate hunger. Together, we can make a difference.”
The New Jersey Department of Agriculture administers programs that annually distribute nearly 40 million pounds of federally donated foods each year through the School Breakfast and Lunch Programs, and through The Emergency Food Assistance Program, which supplies more than 500 food pantries, soup kitchens and homeless shelters across the state.
Additionally, the Department of Agriculture has expanded its network of community farmers markets, which provide an important source of fresh fruits and vegetables for nutritionally at-risk seniors, women and children, and is a sponsor of Farmers Against Hunger – a program that annually collects more than one million pounds of fresh produce from New Jersey farmers and distributes it through local community organizations to those in need.
In addition to providing direct funding for hunger programs, the Department of Human Services is working to address hunger by increasing participation in the Food Stamp Program. About 150,000 households in New Jersey currently receive food stamps. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that New Jersey's caseload represents only 53 percent of the households that appear to be eligible for food stamps. Later this year, the food stamp application and a benefit-screening tool will be posted on the DHS Internet site at www.state.nj.us/humanservices
.
“There is no shame in taking help when you need and deserve it,” DHS Commissioner Harris said. “Many people who are eligible for food stamps may not even realize it, and we want to reach as many of them as possible.”
The DHS Division of Family Development began outreach efforts this summer with an advertising campaign that features banners on NJ Transit buses, shopping cart placards, and ads in foreign-language and senior-oriented publications. The campaign targets seniors, low-income working families and immigrants because those groups tend to have large numbers of people who are eligible for food stamps yet do not receive them. The slogan, “Everyday People Use Food Stamps Every Day,” aims to lift the stigma often connected to assistance programs.

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