Growing up, Roby Weinreich was surrounded by conversations about economic justice. Her mother was a public health nurse working with underserved communities, and her experiences deeply influenced Roby’s worldview.
“She taught me a lot about what it looked like to be a struggling working-class family,” Roby recalled. “She not just humanized the face of poverty for me, but she described the small set-backs – an illness, an unreliable car, a sick kid – that could take a family into crisis.”
As an adult, Roby found her own way of giving back when she discovered CFBNJ through her kids’ involvement in school groups and scouting. Her husband, Josh, joined the FoodBank’s Board of Directors, while she contributed her skills as a writer, helping to develop grant applications, marketing materials, and more.
“I had done a lot of writing — newsletters, political campaigns — and decided to get a certificate in grant writing,” she said. “It was an opportunity to truly articulate the mission and impact of the organization.”
Roby then went on to help found CFBNJ’s Women Fighting Hunger, a group that supports the FoodBank through skilled volunteerism. She wanted to create a structure that empowered people to get consistently involved in impactful ways: “So often friends of mine had asked, how can I get involved in the FoodBank? And at that time, we couldn’t offer more than sporadic warehouse shifts. Our group of WFH founders recognized how many women wanted to share the talents and expertise they had gained in the working world.”
The COVID-19 pandemic hit just as WFH was getting organized. With crucial staff support, the group was immediately tasked with taking member expertise and using it in response to the critical needs facing CFBNJ.
“A member who’d been an executive recruiter helped with food sourcing phone calls; someone who owned her own business provided marketing expertise; a lawyer helped us with network grant-writing assistance; human resources folks worked with our Food Service Training Academy graduates. Everyone was able to find a place to make an impact,” Roby recalled. “And all of us were grateful to have an opportunity to do something meaningful for our neighbors at such a traumatic time.”
Now with more than 50 active members, Women Fighting Hunger is responsible for CFBNJ’s annual #GreatBigDiaperDrive and #GreatBigPeriodProductDrive, which run every September and May, respectively, to collect critical diapers, period supplies, and other hygiene items for neighbors in need. The group also volunteers frequently in CFBNJ’s warehouse and assists with various programmatic tasks and initiatives – helping to gather feedback from child nutrition partners, hosting forums for college pantry managers, advocating for sustainable solutions to food insecurity, and more.
For Roby, the FoodBank’s mission is about more than just providing food – it’s about educating others and advocating for lasting change. She hopes that future generations will work to eliminate the stigma around poverty, end food insecurity through systemic solutions, and foster a society where economic security is afforded to all.
“That’s why we’re here — not only to help, but to educate,” she said. “As a society, we have a responsibility to feed people.”