AS WE WORK TO PRIORITIZE NEIGHBORS’ WELLNESS, PRODUCE AND PROTEINS WILL BE OUR TOP PURCHASING PRIORITIES.
One way that we’re securing more fresh food is through the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement (LFPA), for which CFBNJ now serves as the subrecipient agency through the New Jersey Department of Agriculture.
We use funds from the Jersey Fresh for All program, as part of LFPA, to purchase food from New Jersey farmers and producers for distribution in underserved communities. In close coordination with the Director of the New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate and the state’s other food banks, CFBNJ is ensuring that fresh food purchased through LFPA reaches people in need in all 21 counties. Since the agreement was signed in late 2022, CFBNJ has purchased millions of pounds of New Jersey-sourced produce and proteins to bring wholesome, healthy, and delicious Jersey Fresh food to neighbors in need. This groundbreaking work promotes diversity in farming by creating new markets for farmers and increasing their capacities to build thriving businesses.
Distributing a variety of nutritious foods is especially important for those with chronic health conditions, like diabetes and hypertension, which disproportionately affect the people CFBNJ serves. We also provide medically tailored menus through our diabetes program and other health partnerships. Low-sodium, heart-healthy meals produced in our very own kitchen nourish seniors living on fixed incomes.
To formalize these efforts to provide food that address our neighbors’ health concerns, cultural considerations, and food preferences, CFBNJ is creating a nutrition policy to provide clear guidance about the types and nutritional quality of the foods we provide. Through this written policy, in which foods will be separated into “choose often,” “choose sometimes,” and “choose rarely” tiers, CFBNJ will make every effort to prioritize foods with the greatest nutritional values. The Common Market and the New Jersey Food Democracy Collaborative are serving as key collaborators in the program’s procurement, research, outreach, and relationship development activities.”
At CFBNJ, our goal is to ensure that all neighbors can have balanced diets to support healthy, active lifestyles.
