FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nicole Williams, Communications & Public Relations Manager, Community FoodBank of New Jersey
nwilliams@cfbnj.org / 732-798-5213
SUMMER FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM TO NOURISH NEW JERSEY CHILDREN IN NEED
Community FoodBank of New Jersey Aims to Close Summer Meal Gap
HILLSIDE, NJ—April 5, 2021
Food insecure children and their families are most vulnerable during the summer months, when they lose access to the free school meals that they rely on. This year, as schools remain closed due to COVID-19, putting food on the table has been an even more urgent challenge for households struggling to make ends meet.
During 2020, child food insecurity in New Jersey increased by 75% because of the pandemic – from 1 in 7 kids lacking sufficient access to nutritious food up to 1 in 5. With more children in need than ever before, the Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ) will work with sites across the state this summer, including Boys & Girls Clubs, recreation centers, and libraries, to serve free breakfasts and lunches through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). CFBNJ will serve nutritious meals to thousands of children from June 28, 2021 to August 31, 2021 to help them grow up healthy and reach their full potential.
For more information on how your child can receive free breakfasts and lunches this summer, contact:
Amanda Cusumano, Nutrition Programs Coordinator in Hillside, at acusumano@cfbnj.org, if you’re in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, or Union County.
Amanda Gill, Child Nutrition Programs Coordinator in South Jersey, at agill@cfbnj.org, if you’re in Atlantic, Cape May, or Cumberland County.
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The Summer Food Service Program is a federal program of the Food and Nutrition Services, United States Department of Agriculture. This program provides all children 18 years of age and under with the same free meal in accordance with a menu approved by the state agency.
In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, and reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA.
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g. Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.), should contact the Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.
To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, (AD-3027) found online at: http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:
(1) Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;
(2) Fax: (202) 690-7442; or
(3) Email: program.intake@usda.gov.
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The Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ), a member of Feeding America®, has been delivering food, help and hope across the state for 45 years. Last year, CFBNJ provided nutritious food for over 66 million meals through its network of more than 1,000 community partners including pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, mobile pantries, and child and senior feeding programs throughout the 15 New Jersey counties it serves. For our hungry neighbors, the Community FoodBank of New Jersey is the powerful agent of change that fills the emptiness caused by hunger and provides resources that are essential to earning a sustainable living.