For our 2010 Community Action Project, NAIOP New Jersey is proud
to partner with the Community Food Bank of New Jersey (CFB) for a Food Drive
and Volunteer Day.
To Date NAIOP NJ Members &
Friends Have Donated:
- More than 1,000 pounds of food
- $2245 in cash donations
- Nearly $850 via our Virtual Food Drive
More than 35 NAIOP New Jersey
members, staff and friends spent volunteered at the Community Food Bank of New
Jersey on July 28. We were overwhelmed
by the size and scope of the Food bank’s operation (seven football feields
could fit inside): a full-time staff of 110 and about 30,000 volunteers
annually keep this massive facility going to the benefit of about 1,500
non-profit charities in 18 counties across our state, including soup kitchens,
food pantries, shelters, after-school programs and senior centers. The estimated reach is 900,000 people each
month, a number that has climbed in this protracted recession. Many members conducted food drives at their
offices and brought donations with them, nearly 1,000 pounds of food in all.
NAIOP volunteers sorted boxes and
bags of incoming donations by category (canned goods, protein, baby food, etc.)
for ease of distribution. A
well-deserved lunch break, arranged by Community Action Committee Co-Chair
Janet Proscia (Cronheim Mortgage) and prepared by the Food Bank’s Catering
Division (a very successful job training program), featured an award-winning
short film on hunger in New Jersey, and a Q&A session with Food bank staff
members.
After lunch, volunteers filled bags with canned goods to
be distributed to senior citizens, and sorted and packed items in the Kids
Division, which provides much-needed clothing and school supplies for
children.
“It was a fantastic experience, we
should do it again next year,” said Community Action Co-Chair Rick Pratt
(O’Connor Gordon Pratt Architects). That
sentiment was echoed by many participants, some vowing to bring their children
and co-workers to volunteer in the future.
The Community Food Bank of
New Jersey (a designated 501(c)(3) charitable organization) supplies food to
1,200 non-profit charities across our state, including soup kitchens, food
pantries, shelters, after-school programs and senior centers. 45% of the people
who receive food from the Community FoodBank of New Jersey are children and 10%
are elderly. 18% of clients with children said that their children sometimes
skipped meals because there was not enough money for food during the previous
12 months.
The timing of our project is particularly meaningful: while the recession may be officially over, economic
recovery is moving at a snail’s pace. At a time when service organizations are
in greatest need, donations have slowed.
Because most people vacation at this time of year and food drives are
often associated with cold weather, New Jersey’s food banks see a dramatic drop
in donations in the warm months, but hunger doesn’t take a summer
vacation.