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Editor’s note: This article was aggregated from NorthJersey.com. Click here to read the rest of the article.

NorthJersey.com’s Matt Cortina takes a look at how North Jersey food pantries are trying to meet growing community need with fewer resources due to recent and proposed changes in federal funding. Table to Table’s Executive Director Heather Thompson was asked to weigh in on what we are hearing and seeing from our community partners. 

“Some are seeing longer lines for food, so we are endeavoring to increase our amounts; others are shifting times and locations of their food distributions to avoid being targeted based on the makeup of the populations they serve, so we are adjusting our delivery schedules accordingly,” she shared. “There is so much uncertainty right now around funding for nonprofits and benefits programs for our neighbors, the best we can do is keep our lines of communication with our partners wide open, listen to what they are experiencing and do our best to respond. No matter what happens, the need for fresh food is not going away.”


Table to Table is New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue nonprofit, bridging the gap between food being wasted and people facing food insecurity. We bring rescued fresh, nutritious food to 303 community partners, including social service organizations, pantries, shelters, fresh produce markets and centralized distribution hubs. Food is provided free of charge. Through this, Table to Table touches a diversity of those in need, including families, children, veterans, and older adults, making good nutrition accessible while serving as a stimulus for other longer-term benefits. Since 1999 we have rescued more than 120,700 tons of nutritious food—enough for 241,400,846 million meals—and delivered it to our neighbors in need, saving over 544 metric tons of methane saved.

Related:

Nourishing hope and heart: Food security work, inspiration, and connection with each other are all needed now more than ever. The NJ Office of the Food Security Advocate (OFSA) asks, “What is a quote, meditation, poem, lyric, phrase or thought that you’re adopting as a mantra for your part in this collective work or for your own work/life harmony in 2025?”

Heather Thompson, Executive Director of Table to Table (tabletotable.org) and Jemmell’z Washington-Rock, OFSA Program Manager (nj.gov/foodsecurity) contribute their inspirations in this video. Listen to their offerings, breathe, and take any encouragement and community you need.


Table to Table is New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue nonprofit, bridging the gap between food being wasted and people facing food insecurity. We bring rescued fresh, nutritious food to 303 community partners, including social service organizations, pantries, shelters, fresh produce markets and centralized distribution hubs. Food is provided free of charge. Through this, Table to Table touches a diversity of those in need, including families, children, veterans, and older adults, making good nutrition accessible while serving as a stimulus for other longer-term benefits. Since 1999 we have rescued more than 120,700 tons of nutritious food—enough for 241,400,846 million meals—and delivered it to our neighbors in need, saving over 544 metric tons of methane saved.

Related:

Starting last fall, Seton Hall partnered with Table to Table, New Jersey’s first and most extensive food rescue organization. The group works to feed hungry neighbors in northern New Jersey by rescuing and delivering healthy, fresh and perishable food from grocery stores, distributors, schools and restaurants.

Shayne Simmons, a master’s student in the public administration program, has driven the collaboration between Seton Hall and Table to Table.

An outgrowth of Simmons’ involvement with the Food Recovery Network Club as an undergraduate, the initiative is also supported by the university’s Environmental Sustainability Committee and continues to impact the local community.

Read the complete story from Seton Hall University.


Table to Table is New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue nonprofit, bridging the gap between food being wasted and people facing food insecurity. We bring rescued fresh, nutritious food to 303 community partners, including social service organizations, pantries, shelters, fresh produce markets and centralized distribution hubs. Food is provided free of charge. Through this, Table to Table touches a diversity of those in need, including families, children, veterans, and older adults, making good nutrition accessible while serving as a stimulus for other longer-term benefits. Since 1999 we have rescued more than 120,700 tons of nutritious food—enough for 241,400,846 million meals—and delivered it to our neighbors in need, saving over 544 metric tons of methane saved.

Related:

Table to Table, New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue nonprofit, received a generous $25,000 grant from Avolta’s Journey For Good Foundation in support of its more than 25-year-old mission to reduce food waste and feed individuals and families facing food insecurity throughout northern New Jersey. The foundation is Avolta’s philanthropic arm in North America.

Journey For Good Foundation is the philanthropic arm in North America for Avolta, a leading global travel retail and food & beverage player. In the Summer of 2024, Table to Table launched an official partnership with Avolta to begin rescuing a range of food, including ‘grab and go’ sandwiches, salads, and snacks from numerous HMSHost and Hudson locations within Newark Liberty International Airport.

Read the complete story in The Paramus Post.


Table to Table is New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue nonprofit, bridging the gap between food being wasted and people facing food insecurity. We bring rescued fresh, nutritious food to 303 community partners, including social service organizations, pantries, shelters, fresh produce markets and centralized distribution hubs. Food is provided free of charge. Through this, Table to Table touches a diversity of those in need, including families, children, veterans, and older adults, making good nutrition accessible while serving as a stimulus for other longer-term benefits. Since 1999 we have rescued more than 120,700 tons of nutritious food—enough for 241,400,846 million meals—and delivered it to our neighbors in need, saving over 544 metric tons of methane saved.

Related:

Most high schoolers spend their summers unwinding, but Veer Agarwal, spent his brainstorming. Inspired by his passion for service and a knack for coding, Veer built a platform connecting surplus food and leftovers from restaurants to local food pantries. The result? ResQFoods, a tech-driven initiative tackling food waste and leftovers in his community, Suburban Essex magazine reported.

Now, recently backed by Table to Table, New Jersey’s first food rescue nonprofit organization, he uses their I-Rescue app for donating tracking.

With ResQFoods, he’s proving that one idea—and one determined teen—can make an impact.

Read the complete story in Suburban Essex.

Related:

Perhaps the happiest person at Taste of Morristown was Nicole Berezny, Morris County coordinator for Table to Table, a food-rescue organization participating in its first Taste of Morristown, Morristown Green reported. Nicole rescued 13 trays and boxes of food that was delivered to the Market Street Mission.

“We take the food that’s left at the end of the night that would normally be thrown away and we donate it to local organizations,” Berezny said.

Read the complete story in Morristown Green.

Nicole Berezny of Table to Table at Taste of Morristown

Listen to the exciting journey of school food waste solution leader: Table To Table’s Executive Director Heather Thompson. In this episode, Heather shares about her 20 plus year journey in the not for profit world, which includes learning about food waste, and then pursuing solutions to school food waste through a program called I-Rescue Lunch.


I-Rescue Lunch encourages K-12 students to rescue, recycle and reduce food waste. Partnering with schools, wholesome, unopened food is donated to people in the community who are in need.

As New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue, our mission is to reduce food waste and provide nourishment to our food-insecure neighbors throughout North Jersey. We rescue millions of pounds of fresh food annually that would otherwise be wasted and deliver it to partner organizations who support the nearly 1 million people in our area who need it most.

Together, we can reduce food waste in our home and make a positive impact on the planet. Every little bit of effort—no matter how small–leads to change.  

Trying to be more active? Stay creative? Make a difference? These local organizations will keep you honest and help you thrive.

If you resolved to make a difference.

Bergen has no shortage of volunteer opportunities for those who want to help their neighbors. Help combat food insecurity and hunger in our county by helping rescue fresh food at Table to Table; donate your time and help at a homeless shelter through Family Promise of Bergen County; help build homes for those in need with Habitat for Humanity of Bergen CountyBergen Volunteers will give you opportunities to take part in mentor programs and more.

Related:

Livingston High School junior Veer Agarwal has started the nonprofit ResQFood to help alleviate food waste throughout town.

With the assistance of the non-profit organization Table to Table, ResQFood allows restaurants and residents to donate excess food to those in need. During its inaugural year, ResQFood has partnered with nine Livingston restaurants to take their excess food and deliver it to various local food banks.

Creating ResQFood

After spending his summer volunteering to teach orphaned Indian children English via Zoom, Agarwal

decided he wanted to help his local community.

“After that experience, I knew I wanted a meaningful way to serve the immediate community and to do so in a unique way,” he said. As he brainstormed, he kept returning to the issue of food waste, which historically affects more affluent neighborhoods.

He used the skills he gained in his AP computer science course, taught by LHS teacher Matthew Van Pelt, to create the interactive website and app, ResQFoods.com.

Agarwal shared that three of his classmates volunteered to help with ResQFood. LHS juniors Jack Liu, Parth Jain, and Armaan Mishra, are assisting with logistics, as well as food pick-ups and deliveries.

Current Collaborations

Since completing its first food pick-up in October, ResQFood has begun collaborating with different Livingston restaurants. Currently, Viva Guacamole, Blaze Pizza, Panera Bread, Bagel Nosh, Paris Baguette, Seymour’s Cafe, Sombrero Tacoria, and Bubbakoo’s Burritos all collabo- rate with ResQFood to alleviate food waste throughout town.

Table to Table

After Agarwal spent the summer building the ResQFood website and developing a standard operating procedure for food donations, he and his volunteers realized they could benefit from the assistance of a larger organization. Agarwal then partnered with the community based food rescue program Table to Table.

Heather Thompson, CEO of Table to Table, shared that many local restaurants were eager and willing to donate unused food but “wanted to make sure the donations were being coordinated through an established nonprofit.” The organization was able to help ResQFood register as a nonprofit, obtain a federal tax ID, and provide volunteers with certified volunteer hours.

After her first conversation with Agarwal, Thompson said she felt inspired.

“When younger people like Veer are paying attention to issues in their own communities, like food waste and food insecurity – and actually taking initiative to do something about it,” she said, “I feel like our future is going to be okay.”

Moving Forward

Agarwal explained that in the upcoming calendar year, he hopes ResQFood will be able to “corner the Livingston market” to significantly lessen the town’s food waste. He aims to increase the frequency of pickups from restaurants.

“Once we capture Livingston, we plan to expand to neighboring towns like Millburn and go from there,” he said.

He shared that he is especially invigorated by the enthusiasm of those younger than him.

“We’re passing the baton to the younger generation and we’re sure the cause of food rescue is in safe hands,” he said. “We’re invigorating high schoolers to engage with the community and to start doing so at an early age so they can continue to do so.”

Thompson discussed that while the collaboration is just beginning, there is room for near limitless growth.

“We want to ramp up our volunteer base and grow our food donors in Livingston and beyond,” she said.

“We also see ResQFood as a model for food rescue clubs in high schools throughout New Jersey.”

Thompson shared that one of her goals is for children and teenagers “to grow up aware of the challenges of food waste and food insecurity, but also feeling like they can create solutions, which is what Veer and his ResQFood volunteers are doing.”

Agarwal pointed out that volunteering for one to two hours each week can make a significant difference in donating food that may have otherwise gone in the trash.

“Especially now that many students are getting their driver’s licenses, they can use their newfound independence to do good,” he said.

ResQFood is not solely for high school students. Anyone can volunteer to help. For additional information, email info@tabletotable.com or visit resqfoods.com.

“One way people can help is, once they eat dinner somewhere, to ask the manager if there’s an opportunity to donate through ResQFoods,” Agarwal said. “We’re grateful for any and all food. If they have anything to give at the end of the day they might otherwise throw away, we’d happily take that.”

Credit: West Essex Tribune

Table to Table teamed with one of its community partners Bessie Green Community Inc. for the event.

Two nonprofit organizations came together on Friday to make sure every New Jersey resident has access to nutritious food.

Table to Table and one of its community partners, Bessie Green Community Inc., joined forces to take unused food from Newark Liberty International Airport and donate that food to people in need.

News 12 has highlights from the distribution event.

Credit: News 12 New Jersey