(BRIDGEWATER) – New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Ed Wengryn today joined volunteers and Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ) President & CEO Elizabeth McCarthy in Bridgewater at The Food Bank Network of Somerset County to help provide food to neighbors in need at a food distribution.

“Food insecurity is a real issue facing many New Jersey families and as we approach the holiday season the work of the Food Bank Network of Somerset County is even more important,” Secretary Wengryn said. “The connection of our New Jersey farmers with our food bank, pantries, and soup kitchens, means we can ensure more of our citizens can have a more secure food future.”

The Food Bank Network of Somerset County has been in operation since 1982 and services more than 32,000 clients per year. It receives donations from the public, different religious organizations, and grants through government programs, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and New Jersey Department of Agriculture’s State Food Purchase Program (SFPP). The food provided through these programs includes poultry, pork, fish, fresh produce, and other items, allowing residents to choose from a variety of nutritious options to meet their families’ needs.

“At the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, our goal is to ensure that every one of our neighbors has enough to eat year-round, regardless of their economic circumstances,” said Elizabeth McCarthy, President & CEO of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey. "This holiday season, specifically, CFBNJ is providing more than 85,000 turkeys, hams, and chicken roasters statewide, along with our community partners like the Food Bank Network of Somerset County. We're thrilled that Secretary Wengryn was able to join us at a distribution today in solidarity with our efforts. Our government partners do important work to make lasting change towards a food secure Garden State, and we're grateful to the Secretary and the New Jersey Department of Agriculture for the critical funding that they provide for our mission."

CFBNJ is the state's largest anti-hunger, anti-poverty organization and the lead source of nourishing food for 800 pantries across 15 counties. Last year alone, CFBNJ distributed enough food for more than 90 million meals, including 1.8 million pounds of food to the Food Bank Network of Somerset County. CFBNJ's comprehensive approach to food insecurity goes beyond just providing food to include long-term supportive solutions, such as job training, nutrition education, hygiene product distribution and policy and advocacy efforts.

Nearly 1 million people in New Jersey are food insecure, including more than 260,000 children.

The Community Food Bank of New Jersey, the Food Bank of South Jersey, Fulfill of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, Mercer Street Friends, NORWESCAP, and the Southern Regional Food Distribution Center receive a combined $85 million to bolster the resources they need to support their all-important mission. The food banks work with about 1,000 local distribution agencies, which include food pantries, community kitchens, and shelters throughout the state. In September of this year alone, those local distribution agencies combined to serve 1.1 million meals.

TEFAP distributes U.S. Department of Agriculture foods and administrative funding to the food banks. The New Jersey Department of Agriculture administers TEFAP and last year there were more than 32 million pounds of food allocated to the food banks, which equates to over 38 million meals being provided throughout New Jersey.

The six food banks also receive an additional combined $6.8 million through the State Food Purchase Program.

“The food we receive from the State and Federal government is a tremendous help,” Food Bank Network of Somerset County Executive Director Steve Katz said. “It is so much appreciated here.”

Contact information for each of the six Emergency Feeding Organizations and the counties they serve in New Jersey can be found at https://bit.ly/40X4EF2.

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