On a chilly November morning in Paterson, dedicated volunteers Nancy, Bob, and Rochelle helped load 3,500 turkeys and 1,000 holiday boxes into the waiting vehicles of CFBNJ community partners. Rain or shine, they wanted to help families impacted by the pandemic share special holiday meals that they might’ve otherwise gone without.
Bob is a business owner who also likes to pay his employees to spend the day volunteering at the FoodBank. “These are difficult times. Food insecurity is always an issue, but it’s an even bigger issue now than it was before,” he said. “I volunteer because I know that it’s part of a larger effort to make somebody’s life better and to feed people.”
The three also regularly visit our Hillside warehouse to help pack emergency meal kits. Since we reopened our doors to outside volunteers in September, we’ve relied on caring people like them to help us adapt and meet the growing need.
“I really think that the act of service is a contribution to the greater good and to humanity,” Rochelle told us. “Instead of sitting on the sideline and complaining about everything that’s bad, I think volunteering is a good way to jump in and say ‘This is what I can do with my two hands.’”