Community FoodBank of New Jersey

With heavy hearts, we mourn the passing of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey's beloved founder, Kathleen DiChiara, who gave hope to countless people as she dared to dream of a hunger-free Garden State. Kathleen was a passionate humanitarian, a captivating leader, and a caring friend. She passed away on October 11 surrounded by her family. Kathleen's lifetime of service began in the early 1970s, when she organized the Loaves and Fishes food collection at her church. In 1975, the Community FoodBank of New Jersey was born when she started giving out food from the back of her station wagon in downtown Newark. Under her exemplary leadership as Executive Director until 2015, she propelled our organization towards its mission of ensuring that everyone in New Jersey - at all times - has enough to eat. Her compassion and dedication to helping those in need knew no bounds and extended beyond her leadership of CFBNJ. Kathleen's visionary approach focused on holistic solutions to food insecurity and poverty. She designed and implemented programs that have been replicated by food banks nationwide. She also helped start the National Diaper Bank Network when she learned that food insecure families were struggling to afford diapers. During her incredible life, Kathleen was recognized by three U.S. Presidents, three governors of New Jersey, and even the Pope. She was a 2013 inductee of the New Jersey Hall of Fame and received eight honorary doctorates from colleges and universities in New York and New Jersey. Kathleen will be greatly missed. Please join us in honoring her legacy. Her family has asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations are made to CFBNJ: give.cfbnj.org/Kathleen

Today is #NationalFarmersDay, a time to honor the hard-working people who dedicate their lives to feeding and supplying a nation - like Jose. Jose Constantino was just 9 years old when he started his new life in the U.S. – and when he decided what he would do with it. “I’ve always wanted to be a farmer,” he said. Jose’s family lived on a farm when they first immigrated from Mexico. As kids, he and his brother Salvador loved helping the farmer and learning everything they could. Jose worked on several different farms across South Jersey before taking a break to become a truck driver. But the great outdoors, hard work, and satisfaction of growing fresh, nutritious food called him back to where he belongs. “I enjoy the freedom. I enjoy the sun and being outside,” Jose reflected. He and his brother returned to farming together in the sprawling fields of a 70-acre property. When the farmer passed away about six years ago, Jose and Salvador purchased the land, and J&S Brothers Farms was born. Today, the business is a family affair. Jose and Salvador’s two sisters supervise the harvest, while their nephews drive the tractors. "When it's family out here, you know they're backing you up. They're looking out for you,” Jose said. J&S Brothers grows everything from seedless watermelons and cantaloupes to jalapenos and pickles. And critical to the farm’s success is the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement (LFPA), a statewide, USDA-funded program that CFBNJ administers. The FoodBank uses LFPA funds from the NJDA to buy food from socially disadvantaged farmers and producers for distribution in underserved communities in all 21 New Jersey counties. Because of LFPA, J&S Brothers planted twice as many crops this year to help CFBNJ provide even more fresh produce to struggling neighbors. “LFPA is a great way to get the product out there to people who need it,” Jose said. Being both Latino-owned and a relatively new name in the industry, J&S Brothers is among the socially disadvantaged farms that LFPA seeks to support. Jose and Salvador have worked hard to build their reputation and show that they can provide high quality fruits and vegetables. "It gives us an opportunity to level the playing field a little bit because, at the end of the day, it is harder for disadvantaged farmers,” Jose told us. Jose and Salvador hope that LFPA will continue far into the future. The program has supported their business by helping them pay their bills and get fair prices for their products. “The LFPA program might be one of the reasons that we’re still farming this year. When stuff goes for far below the prices we need to get, the FoodBank helps us out by giving us reasonable prices,” Jose shared. “It’s definitely made a difference.”

🌟 New career, BIG difference! There's room for you here at the Community FoodBank of New Jersey. We're hiring in several departments across the organization. CFBNJ employees receive medical, dental, vision, and mental health benefits, paid time off, tuition reimbursement, and 401k matching. #TalentTuesday Apply today: cfbnj.org/careers

Join us in wishing all the best of luck to Karen Leies, our Chief of External Affairs, as she moves on from CFBNJ to her next great opportunity as CEO of The Seeing Eye! Though we're sad to see her go, we're so proud of all she's accomplished in her eight years at the FoodBank. Fortunately, this isn't truly goodbye. Karen will stay involved as one of CFBNJ's Women Fighting Hunger volunteers. Congratulations, Karen! And special thanks to The Artist Baker for the fun CFBNJ and Seeing Eye branded cookies to celebrate!

We're in the fight against hunger together, and we are going to WIN! Today, we proudly hosted New Jersey legislators for remarks and a volunteer hour to close out Hunger Action Month, in partnership with Food Bank of South Jersey, Fulfill, Mercer Street Friends, and Norwescap. We were joined by Speaker Craig Coughlin, Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, Congresswoman LaMonica R. McIver, Hillside Mayor Dahlia Vertreese, Mark Dinglasan, MBA of the New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate, Monica Gonzales from Feeding America, and others. After the speaking portion of the event, the group packed boxes of supplemental food for seniors in need. Though Hunger Action Month has ended, our critical work continues.

In honor of her first year as President & CEO of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, it's time for a Q&A with Elizabeth McCarthy! Find out all about Elizabeth, including where her passion for service came from, her favorite hobbies, and what she's loved about her first year at CFBNJ! Join our team along with Elizabeth! We're hiring in several departments across the organization. CFBNJ employees receive medical, dental, vision, and mental health benefits, paid time off, tuition reimbursement, and 401k matching. #TalentTuesday Apply at cfbnj.org/careers.

It's National Diaper Need Awareness Week! Diaper need impacts 1 in 2 U.S. families with young children, and neighbors who struggle to put food on the table also often have trouble accessing essential hygiene supplies.    You can help by supporting CFBNJ's Fourth Annual #GreatBigDiaperDrive! Donate diaper products or funds, help raise awareness, or host a diaper drive of your own, either in person or virtually.    Learn more: cfbnj.org/gbdd

Wakefern Food Corp. has always been equal parts heart ❤️ and ambition. So, with the close of the successful 2024 Wakefern Showcase, we were proud to partner with the Community FoodBank of New Jersey and donate nearly four trucks of fresh foods and groceries from the Showcase supermarket displays. These donated items will help as many as 20,000 families in our region. Thanks to all the team members who volunteered to pack and load – and to the CFBNJ for their ongoing commitment and creativity in the fight against hunger.

It was a beautiful day to cut the ribbon for the grand opening of CFBNJ's brand new Garfield Unity Pantry. Bergen County Commissioner Tracy Silna Zur, our friends from Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, Dr. Jenny Schrum from the New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate, and area partners joined us in celebration. At Garfield Unity Pantry, we offer fresh food - and MORE! Part of the Unity Health Partnership led by Greater Bergen Community Action, Inc., the pantry emphasizes healthy options and prioritizes dignity by enabling neighbors to choose the food they want for their families. The pantry also offers nutrition education and application assistance for SNAP, WIC, and school meals for a holistic approach to food insecurity. We're so excited about this incredible collaboration and great next step in our efforts to focus on underserved communities and address hunger's health effects!

When Gjebar Beqiri’s father came to the United States from Albania with dreams of building skyscrapers, he didn’t imagine that he would become the architect of a family business instead. It was 1986, and he and his brother saw a great need for accessible halal meat in their community. “Back in my father’s village, he had no problem purchasing halal meat because there were so many Muslims living in his area,” Gjebar explained. “But when he came to America, halal was fairly new here at the time. He couldn’t just go down the street to purchase halal meat the way he could at home.” The brothers started Brothers Quality Halal Meat as a small retail shop in Paterson, which today has New Jersey’s largest Muslim community with 30,000 members. People who once needed to drive for hours to purchase halal meat could now get it right in their neighborhood. "My father created a big impact on the community by providing halal meat,” Gjebar said. Today, his father is retired, and Gjebar and his four brothers have taken over the business. “And he's passed that down to us. We're trying to do the same now." Halal is an Arabic word meaning “permissible.” Halal meat is produced in a specific way according to dietary law derived from Islamic teachings. In his own words: "Halal meat is produced more humanely, and it has more tenderness and less waste,” Gjebar shared. As Brothers Quality Halal Meat continues to grow, the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement (LFPA) has played a vital role. LFPA is a statewide, USDA-funded program that CFBNJ administers. The FoodBank uses LFPA funds from the NJDA to buy food from socially disadvantaged farmers and producers for distribution in underserved communities in all 21 New Jersey counties. Thanks to the increased financial stability that LFPA provides, Brothers Quality Halal Meat has hired ten new employees. They’ve also been able to buy more inventory and expand their operation. “Prior to working with the FoodBank, we had an issue where we would sometimes receive purchase orders from customers and we couldn’t provide the right inventory,” Gjebar said. “Now that we’re working with LFPA, we have the funds to buy inventory before receiving any purchase orders, so the inventory is ready to go right away, and the production team can start processing the product.” This has had many benefits for the business. “It’s led to on-time delivery and less confusion,” Gjebar said. “It pays our bills. The LFPA program has provided us tremendous help." Gjebar and everyone at Brothers Quality Halal Meat also find it meaningful that, through LFPA, some of their product helps struggling neighbors. Providing halal meat to food insecure New Jerseyans is part of CFBNJ’s critical work to provide culturally appropriate food. "That someone who's in need of halal meat can go to a pantry and receive our product really, really touches us,” Gjebar said.