Chuck Salzman is all about giving back to the community – both personally and professionally. He’s the current President of Peerless Beverage Company, which has been a CFBNJ corporate partner for more than three decades, and he also serves on the FoodBank’s Board of Directors.
Chuck clearly remembers the first time he ever visited the organization’s warehouse in Hillside, just a few towns over from Peerless’s headquarters in Union. It was twenty years ago, when he went with one of his company’s beverage brands to do a check presentation: “I had never been to the FoodBank before, but it was eye-opening how close by it was, and I really got to see for the first time everything that was going on there. I was blown away. That was a pivotal point for me and for Peerless.”
Though Peerless had historically provided CFBNJ with financial support, the company’s involvement deepened and expanded under Chuck’s leadership. He was inspired to get hands-on in the mission to ensure that no one in New Jersey goes hungry. Chuck joined CFBNJ’s Board of Directors, and since then, Peerless staff members have volunteered at the annual Turkey Drive, helping to collect and encourage donations. The company’s truck drivers have also provided logistical support, driving box trucks to pick up Turkey Drive food at the end of the event and bring it back to CFBNJ’s warehouse.
“It’s been really great for our employees to get involved, and they bring their families, too,” Chuck shared.
His own family is also part of the effort. Chuck feels fortunate that he and his wife have been able to bring their three kids to volunteer at the Turkey Drive several times, exposing them to the FoodBank’s work to help them learn about food insecurity and the importance of giving back.
“Hopefully, those experiences will stick with them for the rest of their lives,” he said.
To describe the FoodBank in just three words, Chuck chooses “family,” “welcoming,” and “creative.” These words capture the FoodBank’s relationships on both sides of its work – with its supporters and with neighbors in need.
“I think of how much the FoodBank impacts families – families that it’s helping and also families that want to give back,” Chuck explained. “It’s also so welcoming to both people who need food assistance and also to those who want to help.”
He admires the creative ways CFBNJ enables people to help their neighbors and the innovative solutions it employs to address food insecurity in the long term, going beyond just providing food to help people get back on their feet so they don’t need to visit pantries anymore. With these solutions in mind, Chuck sees the FoodBank as “the backbone of the community.”
Through a combination of programs, education, and services, he hopes to see this work continue and expand its impact: “My hope is that the FoodBank can get ahead of poverty – that it can help people before they become food insecure to keep them from being hungry.”