Category: Blog

In honor of Black History Month, Table to Table, NJ’s first food rescue organization, salutes the many achievements and contributions of African Americans in history. In particular, we shine a light on a gentleman, who—without his genius—Table to Table would not be possible.

Born in 1893, Frederick McKinley Jones grew up to become the inventor of one of the most important inventions to modern agriculture: the refrigerated truck. His interest in mechanics and electricity began as a boy, and later, in 1940, Jones patented his refrigeration system, which allowed perishable foods to be shipped further distances and worldwide. In 1991, Frederick Jones was posthumously awarded the National Medal of Technology, becoming the first African American to receive the honor.

Committed to feeding our hungry neighbours in northern NJ, Table to Table—using a fleet of 6 refrigerated trucks —rescues and delivers healthy, fresh and perishable food from grocery stores, food distributors and restaurants, and in doing so, nourishes the community while helping our environment. Since our inception in 1999, Table to Table has rescued 191,750,000 pounds of food.

We are so grateful for the tireless work of Frederick McKinley Jones!

As we usher in 2022, it’s never too late to adopt a resolution or two. And, it’s especially meaningful when a resolution has more than one benefit. For instance, at the heart of our mission, Table to Table not only delivers wholesome, free food to hundreds of diverse partner agencies who feed our hungry NJ neighbors, but also, we rescue fresh food that would otherwise be wasted and sent to landfills where it can form greenhouse gases. Essentially, Table to Table delivers a triple play, feeding people, saving food and helping the environment. With that in mind, the team at Table to Table, New Jersey’s first food rescue organization, curated the list below of these Top 5 New Year’s Resolutions.

Resolution #1: Become a recurring supporter

By becoming a supporter of Table to Table, you’ll help us feed more hungry neighbors. For every $1 raised = 10 meals are delivered. So, consider not buying that pricey latte a couple days a week, and reallocate those funds to feed those in need. With that donation, you could be providing the equivalent of up to 500 meals per month! And, the level of gratification is far better than what you’ll ever receive from a coffee.  Become a Recurring Donor Today!

Resolution # 2 Volunteer a bit of your time

Table to Table is one of the most cost-effective organizations in the entire country because we rely on the generous time and services that we receive from our volunteers. If you have a special skill to offer, or you’re simply interested in lending a hand, please complete our brief volunteer form.

Additionally, you can deliver food directly to individuals in Bergen County struggling with access to food via our app, Table to Table I-Rescue. It matches smaller commercial food donors with our network of volunteers who pick up and deliver fresh, wholesome food to community-based agency partners, who identify local families in need. To learn more, email us today!

Resolution #3:  Reduce food waste

According to Earth.org, roughly one third of the food produced that is intended for human consumption every year–around 1.3 billion tons and valued at USD$1 trillion–is wasted or lost. This is enough to feed 3 billion people! With that said, there are many ways to reduce food waste in your home. For starters, consider meal-planning a week in advance using a detailed grocery list. Be sure to stick to the list when shopping, and resist the urge to impulse-buy, especially at check out.  Also, steer clear of bulk-buying unless the items are non-perishables, and you definitely use them in the immediate future.

And, when it comes to your fridge, store items that are soon to expire or are more delicate toward the front. Don’t overstock shelves so that it’s hard to easily see the items. Also, pay attention to expiration dates and be sure to store leftovers in clear containers so that you can easily see the contents. These are just a few ideas, but they can certainly make an impact!

Resolution #4 Rethink Gift-Giving

Whether it’s a birthday, anniversary or some other type of gift-giving occasion, forego the sweater or the gift card and consider making a meaningful donation in honor of your family and friends. One size fits all, plus your impact will be exponential in nature. For instance, a donation of $100 will deliver food for 1,000 nutritious lunches. Now, that’s a gift!  Give a gift in honor of someone special today by clicking here.

Resolution #5: Be an ambassador

Whether it is through word-of-mouth or by using your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn platforms, you can amplify the Table to Table mission, thereby increasing our awareness and support. Help spread the word by connecting to us, liking us, commenting and sharing!

From the team at Table to Table, we wish you a Happy & Healthy 2022!  For more information on Table to Table, visit us at www.tabletotable.org.

If you have read or researched anything in the healthcare space lately, you must have come across Social Determinants of Health. “But, what does it mean,” you might ask? According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), social determinants of health is defined as “the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.”

HHS goes on to explain that there are five main categories for these social determinants: economic stability, education access and quality, neighborhood and built environment, social and community context, and health care access and quality. Although all of the categories outlined above are critical, as a food rescue, Table to Table’s mission rests upon the access of fresh, nutritious food for all. And, we are unique because we deliver wholesome, free food to hundreds of diverse partner agencies who in many cases use the money saved–from not having to purchase food–to often create programs or provide an environment that supports social and community well-being through classes, events, adjunct support and more. So, essentially, Table to Table supports both food and community.

The Brookings Institute explains that, “when it comes to food, access, consumption, and quality are all closely related to life expectancy.” For example, a recent study published in Nutrition found that both increases in healthy food expenditure and decreases in unhealthy food expenditure were associated with increases in life expectancy.” Additionally, the lack of access to wholesome food and food security are also connected to diseases like diabetes, which disproportionately impact African American and Latino communities. Lastly, there is often a geographic component to food insecurity.

How Can You Take Action?

Table to Table invites you to join us in helping to feed people experiencing food scarcity in Northern New Jersey. Read on for some ideas.

• Volunteer Some of Your Time

Table to Table is one of the most cost-effective organizations in the entire country because we rely on the generous time and services that we receive from our tireless volunteer network. If you have a special skill to offer or you’re simply interested in lending a hand, please complete our brief volunteer form.

Additionally, you can deliver food directly to individuals in Bergen County struggling with access to food via Table to Table’s app, I-Rescue. It matches smaller commercial food donors with our network of Table to Table volunteers who pick up and deliver fresh, wholesome food to community-based agency partners, who can then identify local families in the greatest need. To learn more, email Andrea Ibarra.

• Donate Now

To help Table to Table in their mission to address food insecurity in Northern New Jersey, Donate Now!

• Fundraise on your own, with classmates, colleagues or in your community

Table to Table’s Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch is a grassroots initiative that asks individuals, employees in businesses, and students in schools to donate what you’d spend on lunch for the day, week, month or more to help Table to Table fight hunger in our communities.

Individuals, employees at corporations and students in schools can energize their social networks to host a Bag a Lunch event. Fun competitions among different classes in schools or departments within a corporation, can inspire and engage participants.

Also, you can double your impact! For individual donations, the first $15,000 raised will be matched by a former Table to Table trustee! And for donations coming from school teams, any donations raised will be matched up to $30K. The school in Northern NJ that raises the most will receive The Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch Bernard and Geraldine Segal Foundation Award for Student Philanthropy, which will be promoted through social media and publicity. Hurry, the match deadline is December 3, 2021. To get started on your Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch event, register here, or contact Shahna Sherwood.

Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch is made possible by generous sponsors including: Presenting Sponsor: Inserra Supermarkets and Platinum Sponsor: Becton, Dickinson and Company. For a complete list of sponsors click here. If your organization would like to become a corporate partner, email Eda Tekeoglu. And, for more information on Table to Table, visit us at www.tabletotable.org.

Thank You for Your Support

This past year brought much unpredictability and many challenges to households across Northeastern New Jersey. For many, putting food on the table became a new hurdle to jump. Fortunately, with the help of our devoted sponsors and their unwavering support, Table to Table maximized its mission of collecting perishable food that would otherwise be wasted and delivered it to food pantries, community centers, and other organizations that serve people experiencing hunger throughout Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Passaic counties. On behalf of everyone at Table to Table, we would like to express our most sincere gratitude to the generous sponsors for their continued support. For everything you have done for us in the past, everything you still do and will continue to do, our lean but mighty team at Table to Table salute you, and we look forward to a prosperous future together!

If you would like to learn about how you can partner through sponsorship with Table to Table, reach out to Shahna Sherwood. And, read on to learn more about just a few of our many wonderful sponsors.

Sponsor Spotlight

Inserra ShopRite Supermarkets, which began as a local butcher shop, is a family-owned and operated company where third-and fourth-generation family members continue the tradition of caring for the communities served by their 25 stores, providing unparalleled professional service, locally sourced specialty items, farm-to-table fresh produce, dairy, meats, and poultry. It was their incredibly generous fresh food donations that helped transform Table to Table into Northeastern New Jersey’s leading food rescue program. Inserra ShopRite Supermarkets also provide nutritionists at the ICC Fresh Produce Market, sponsor all Table to Table events, and donate fresh food every day. During the Thanksgiving holiday, Inserra Supermarkets have also generously donated turkeys to families in need. And, the Inserra family has helped with Table to Table’s strategic vision by sitting on the organization’s Board of Directors since 2015.

Whole Foods Market (WFM), a mission-driven company and purveyor of the finest natural and organic foods, was Table to Table’s very first supermarket food donor. With its unshakeable commitment, WFM continues to donate fresh food from 8 of their Northern New Jersey store locations on a regular basis. Recently, they even donated a brand new van, which helped Table to Table increase its distribution capacity. Whole Foods has supported Table to Table financially, and they—like our organization—are guided by the mission of providing wholesome, nutritious foods for all. Many thanks WFM!

Crestron is a global leader in workplace technologies, engineering, and transforming corporate automation and unified communication (UC) solutions for enterprise organizations across Fortune 500 corporations, campuses, facilities, and more. As a Table to Table sponsor since 2015, Crestron has generously supported Table to Table fundraising activities, including our Food & Wine events, Annual Golf Classic, and others. Over the years, Crestron has also engaged their employees in our work by hosting food drives and participating in our Bag a Lunch initiative. From our team to yours, “Thank You!”

American Airlines, the largest commercial airline fleet in the world, helped jumpstart Table to Table as one of our founding sponsors. Since then, American Airlines has been a consistent friend, enhancing the allure of Table to Table’s Bag a Lunch initiative through compelling contest prizes and helping to make the auction at our yearly Food & Wine Events much anticipated experiences. We are forever grateful!

More about Table to Table

Table to Table, https://tabletotable.org, is a community-based, not-for-profit, food rescue program that collects fresh and perishable food which would otherwise be wasted and delivers it to organizations that serve people experiencing hunger in Bergen, Hudson, Essex, and Passaic counties in Northeastern NJ. With a fleet of refrigerated trucks, perishable food is picked up from commercial donors and delivered to more than 250 recipient organizations. Recipient partners include: soup kitchens, homeless shelters, older adult programs, and daycare centers, programs for survivors of domestic violence, after-school programs, and pantries serving the working poor. Food is delivered on the day of donation and is provided free of charge. Table to Table raises all its own funds every year, and last year delivered enough food for 38 million meals.

This Earth Day ponder this real life situation: since Covid-19, food insecurity has skyrocketed. More specifically, for Northern New Jersey between 2019 and 2020, significantly increased by 42% to 62% in those who are food insecure, ranging from 10% to 15% of the total population.

Yet, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that more food (over 76 billion pounds per year) reaches landfills and combustion facilities than any other material in everyday trash, constituting 22% of discarded municipal solid waste.*

Landfills are the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the United States. Discarded food is sent to landfills, where it rots and produces methane gas, which is the second-most common greenhouse gas. In other words, throwing out your food contributes to climate change. When food is wasted, the fertilizer, water, packaging, labor and transportation needed to grow the food, process, package, and deliver it to you are also wasted.

Enter Table to Table

Table to Table, New Jersey’s first & only food rescue program, collects food from about 150 donors (supermarkets, food distributors, restaurants, and commercial kitchens) and delivers it the same day free of charge to more than 250 community organizations, including food pantries, shelters, day care/after school programs, senior adult centers, and other programs serving food insecure households.

You = Solution

Helpful Tips to Reducing Food Waste

Although the statistics may seem overwhelming, you can do your part to help reduce food waste. Use this Earth Day to shift your thinking and your behavior. Adopt a tip or two to help our planet!

• Buy What You Need, Not What You See

It’s one thing to buy extra food items that are nonperishable, but when it comes to produce, meat, fish, and dairy, scrutinize your shopping closely before you enter the supermarket. Avoid buying in bulk, and instead, make frequent trips to the grocery store every few days. And, be sure to plan your meals out for the week, so you use food efficiently. Plan to eat more delicate produce first and save more hearty items like squash, sweet potatoes, and brussels sprouts until later in the week.

• Organize Your Fridge

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying: “Organization is the key to success.” Well, it applies to almost everything in your life, including your fridge. Be sure to store items that are soon to expire or are more delicate toward the front. Don’t overstock shelves so that it’s hard to easily see the items. Pay attention to expiration dates and be sure to store leftovers in clear containers so that you can easily see the contents.

• Prevent Food Spoilage

One of the easiest ways to avoid food waste at home is to properly store your food, especially produce. Some combinations of fruit and vegetables may ripen faster than normal when stored together. For example, bananas, peaches, and avocados produce ethylene so you’ll want to separate them from more sensitive produce such as berries, potatoes, and apples. And, read up on your produce. Not every fruit and vegetable needs to be housed in the fridge. Onions, potatoes, and tomatoes can be kept at room temperature.

• Use the Whole Food

Many nutrients are located in the skin or outer peel. Apples—for example—contain antioxidants in their peel, yet many people remove the peel before eating. Apples are just one item. Other produce with nutrient-rich outer layers are carrots, cucumbers, and eggplants. And, when making broccoli, be sure to use the stalks in addition to the florets. You can opt to roast the stalks or grate them for some delicious slaw.

• Whip Up a Smoothie or Soup

If you have a selection of fruits and vegetables that are beginning to wilt, simply repurpose them into a soup or a smoothie! Some tired spinach leaves mixed with banana, blueberries, peanut butter, and almond milk makes a great breakfast on the go or afternoon pick-me-up. Similarly, after the family eats that rotisserie chicken, pop it into a stock pot with some onion, carrots, celery, and spices to create a tasty broth that can be eaten alone or used as consommé for other sauces and meals.

• Donate Now

If time is not an option at the moment, consider a monetary donation by clicking here. With your generous contribution, you will be helping the more than 1 million people in New Jersey facing hunger daily. And, remember every dollar you donate to Table to Table provides enough fresh food for 10 healthy meals.

Any and all of these tips can make a difference in the reduction of food waste. This Earth Day, stand with Table to Table to help those experiencing food insecurity and make small changes in your home to help the planet.

*References:

Environmental Protection Agency food waste fact sheet.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/reduce-food-waste#TOC_TITLE_HDR_22

FeedingAmerica.org

The beloved poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist Maya Angelou once said: “I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.” Her altruistic words are never more fitting than they are in the days leading up to National Volunteer Week–Sunday, April 18 through Saturday, April 24.

Table to Table, New Jersey’s first & only dedicated food rescue program, invites you to join us in helping to feed people experiencing food insecurity in Northern New Jersey. Help out in any way you can. Read on for a list of our top favorite volunteer ideas.

Volunteer Some of Your Time

Table to Table is one of the most cost-effective organizations in the entire country because we rely on the generous time and services that we receive from our tireless volunteer network. If you have a special skill to offer or you’re simply interested in lending a hand, please complete our brief volunteer form.

Additionally, you will soon be able to deliver food directly to individuals in Bergen County struggling with access to food via the Table to Table Rescue App. It matches smaller commercial food donors with our network of Table to Table volunteers who pick up and deliver fresh, wholesome food to community-based agency partners, who can then identify local families in the greatest need. To learn more how you can help, email Andrea Ibarra.

Donate Your Lunch Money

Table to Table’s Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch, a powerful grassroots initiative that asks individuals, employees in businesses, and students in schools to donate the equivalent of one day’s lunch money to help Table to Table fight hunger in our communities. For every dollar raised, Table to Table provides10 healthy meals. So, kick-start a Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch campaign at your school or business. Contact Table to Table’s Director of Events, Shahna Sherwood, for questions or materials.

Hold Your Own Fundraiser

There are a slew of ways to fundraise, but try selecting something that you especially enjoy.  And, invite your friends and family to be a part of the activity. This way, you’re having fun and contributing to those in your community who need it most. Here are some ways you can help raise funds for Table to Table:

Host a benefit concert, bake sale, car wash, spin class or donate a percentage of a designated night’s profits from the fundraiser of your choice.

Designate Table to Table as the beneficiary of suggested donations for your next birthday or celebration.

Consider donating a portion of the proceeds of your business or organization’s annual event that generates funds.

To learn more, contact Table to Table’s Chief Development Officer, Eda Tekeoglu.

Donate Now

If time is an issue, consider a monetary donation by clicking here. With your generous contribution, you will be helping the more than 1 million people in New Jersey facing hunger daily. And, remember every dollar you donate to Table to Table provides enough fresh food for 10 healthy meals.

Support Table to Table by Attending a Fundraising Event

Throughout the year, Table to Table works with our generous Corporate Sponsors to create amazing engagements. From Table to Table’s Annual Golf Classic to The Chefs Gala, every dollar raised will go directly to help feed our hungry neighbors right here in Northern New Jersey. It’s a win/win. You’ll have fun and make a difference at the same time. Read more below about our upcoming events.

Thursday, May 13, 2021
Virtual Master Cooking Class with Celebrity Chef David Burke

Refine your cooking skills with guidance from world-renowned celebrity Chef David Burke, and create an extraordinary dish for all to enjoy! Learn tips and techniques as you follow his lead, fueled by his artful inspiration the entire way. Purchase Your Ticket Now!  Questions?  Reach out directly to Shahna Sherwood.

Tuesday, June 15, 2021
Table to Table’s 6th Annual Golf Classic at White Beeches Golf & Country Club

Take your best shot at fighting hunger, and join us for an amazing day of golf, abundant food and drink, entertainment, prizes, and more!  Purchase Your Golf Classic Ticket Today!  For questions, reach out directly to Shahna Sherwood.

Wednesday, September 22, 2021
Join Table to Table This Fall at The Chefs Gala

Now in our 22nd year, we can’t wait to present this culinary feast where top chefs and restaurateurs from NYC and NJ prepare a five-course menu just for Table to Table.  The evening will include a one-of-a-kind LIVE auction conducted by our favorite auctioneer, Nicholas Lowry (as seen on Antiques Roadshow) along with many other surprises to come.  Join us!

Oftentimes taking the first step is the hardest. In celebration of National Volunteer Week, commit today to not wearing two catcher’s mitts like Maya Angelou so perceptively voiced. The ideas above are only a few of the many ways that you can give of yourself. Make the first move toward being a part of the solution. Contact Table to Table now!

By: Valerie Jacklin, Research & Analytics, Table to Table

When the COVID-19 hit, the safety of our team became a top priority.  Like many others, we learned that there would be a delay in receiving the personal protective equipment we ordered which would provide some protection, assurance and comfort for our drivers whose days included many daily stops to pick up and deliver fresh food.

Even without PPE in hand and the growing uncertainty about the virus, this team was still committed to their routes.  However, in light of the emerging knowledge about the virus, we knew that this would be unsafe.

At the same time, I was frustrated with trying to find ways to help those outside from inside, so as a novice quilter with a pile of fabric, I researched patterns and learned to make masks with HEPA filters sewn in.  I wanted to provide some protection for our drivers who braved this new world each and every day until the ones we ordered finally showed up.

David Porra, Carlos Alvarez, Aaron Breznick, Edgar Brieva, Louis Diaz, Archie McNair and Carlos Patino; they are our frontline heroes here at Table to Table and I am so grateful to them and what they do each day.  They not only keep us on the road, but they continue to be as relentless as always, ensuring access to those who struggle to find fresh, healthy food each day.

Taking the food drive concept to the next level

By:  Lynn Cummings, NJ School Counselor

Young children seem to easily understand the food donation concept:  provide food to hungry people who do not have the money to buy enough for their families. There are opportunities however, to take this concept a step further and the learning so much deeper. It is an opportunity to teach our children about empathy.

Table to Table is a food rescue organization. They offer schools and organizations an opportunity to teach kids about the larger picture of hunger and food scarcity. Table to Table picks up food that would otherwise be wasted and delivers it to people in need. Table to Table fundraisers are aimed at collecting donations to keep the trucks and drivers on the road to do the food rescue. Once students understand food rescue, Table to Table’s mission becomes crystal clear.

A large majority of the people who benefit from this type of program are working families whose earnings must first go to rent, childcare and other bills before they buy food. These are “our families” in “our neighborhoods.” This is another valuable lesson for kids: the food scarcity problem is local, and so is the help they are providing.

When students bring in an envelope full of change (lunch money donation not food donation) they can easily miss the education mark.  However, Table to Table provided us with information to help us educate the students about food scarcity in our own neighborhoods and what “food rescue” is all about.

We supplemented our Table to Table fundraiser with our own food waste exercise. For one day only, we had students put the food they would typically have thrown out onto a table in the cafeteria instead.  As the lunch periods went on, the table became overflowing with good, wrapped food.  What a visual this was for students about their own waste!  They were astonished and vowed to talk to their families about food waste at home.

In the end, our school’s participation in Table to Table fundraising helped us introduce the ideas of empathy and compassion.  And even better than that we put both of these in action!

By: Judith Mender

Don’t you just love twofers? Who doesn’t love to “buy one get one free”? Well, food rescue is one of the best twofers around!

Perhaps you already know the shocking fact that 40% of food produced in this country is wasted. Even though no individual would consciously buy $100 worth of groceries, only to toss $40 of it in the trash on the way out of the store, this is the reality of our food system in the U.S. This, while 1 in 8 Americans struggle to put food on the table.

Or maybe you even know that this waste leads to well over 100 billion pounds of additional landfill each year. Take a moment to visualize those piles and piles of waste. I don’t know about you, but I can’t even do it. Add to that the fact that every bit of food waste is also a waste of water, fertilizer, labor and money. Ugh!

Okay – so landfills are a big, ugly mess and no one likes that. But there is yet another problem. Something insidious is happening in those landfills: that mess of rotting food is producing methane. Methane is estimated to be 28-32 times more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2). Amazingly, food waste produces 16% of methane in the atmosphere. Methane doesn’t last as long as CO2, but it packs a much larger punch in the short term.

Here’s where the twofer comes in…. when we reduce food waste and hunger, we reduce methane pollution and its effects on the environment.

We look forward to other participants in the food system to take action to reduce waste on their ends. But we can’t afford to wait. Food rescue –where perfectly good food mislabeled as “waste” is redirected from landfill to consumption — is a no-brainer; it immediately allows us both to feed the hungry among us, and care for our precious planet.

What could be more worthy of our attention?