Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ) is the largest anti-hunger and anti-poverty organization in the state. We serve 11 counties, provide food for millions of meals, help New Jersey residents apply for SNAP benefits, and more. However, we’re not exactly a food pantry open to the public, not quite a soup kitchen, but still dedicated to helping our neighbors in need – so what do we do here at CFBNJ? Let’s take a closer look at what our foodbank in New Jersey does and how we get hungry people they help they need.
CFBNJ has two locations, one in Hillside and one in Egg Harbor Township. Between these two warehouses and a third storage location in East Windsor, we store food that then gets distributed to over 1,000 agency partners – the food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters right in your neighborhood. We procure the food through various means put in place by our food sourcing experts. Some ways are through relationships with our retail partners, food drives held by our amazing supporters, and through Federal and State government programs. Through these programs, we work to meet the needs of seniors, children, and hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people facing food insecurity every day.
More Services From Our FoodBank
When you want to learn about what a foodbank does, career prep, SNAP benefit help, and supplying period products and diapers might not be the first things that come to mind. However, since we see hunger as a multi-faceted health and economic issue, we do what we can to help New Jerseyans overcome several obstacles they might face. That includes empowering people through our Food Service Training Academy, a free 14-week program designed to train students in a fully-equipped commercial kitchen and provide them with the marketable skills they need to secure a livable wage. We also have a team of SNAP experts on hand to pre-screen callers to determine their eligibility for SNAP benefits and then help with the application process. Additionally, we work to provide our agency partners with period products and diapers to meet the need of struggling mothers, women, and girls who do not have the access they need to these crucial products.
When people ask what a foodbank does, the answer is: a lot. Whether it’s helping our agency partners serve their clients, fielding questions directly from clients, and working with supporters trying to find ways they can help, we work around the clock to help meet the need. If you want to help us on our mission, you can donate to CFBNJ online or sign up to volunteer!