LDS Church gives 120K pounds of food to Community FoodBank of New Jersey

Gabrielle Saulsbery//May 15, 2020

The Community FoodBank of New Jersey in Hillside is receiving three trucks of food, 120,000 pounds total, from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to combat food insecurity during COVID-19.

The food will provide 100,000 meals to New Jersey families.

“This support comes to us at a time when it’s needed most, especially as food donations have declined and the need for assistance has spiked,” said Carlos Rodriguez, president and chief executive officer of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, in a statement. “Without contributions like this, we could not do what we do to feed so many food insecure people throughout the state. We are grateful to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for their generous donation of nutritious food to CFBNJ.”

On April 28, the Community FoodBank of New Jersey held an Emergency Food Distribution Event at Essex County Branch Brook Park with volunteers distributing boxes to more than 2,000 families. In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, CFBNJ supplied enough food to support 4.8 million meals, just in March – a 20 percent increase over the year before. – COMMUNITY FOODBANK OF NEW JERSEY

On average, 900,000 people in New Jersey are food insecure. CFBNJ provides about 50 million meals every year.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the organization’s partners report a more than 50 percent increase in demand for food assistance.

The surge in need is unlike anything CFBNJ has seen before, according to the organization, surpassing the demand following Hurricane Sandy and the Great Recession.

“So many of our friends, neighbors and members in New Jersey have been impacted by this virus,” said Diane Nelson, president of the local Scotch Plains Stake Relief Society, the LDS women’s organization focused on helping those in need, in a prepared statement. “There’s no greater work we could be focused on at this time than helping to provide critical nutrition to individuals and families. We are grateful to partner with the Community Food Bank of New Jersey.”

Two of the truckloads of food were delivered to CFBNJ last week, and the third will arrive in June. The trucks are filled with non-perishable foods such as canned soups and fruits, peanut butter, beans, flour, sugar, cake mixes, pasta and milk powder.