Great prizes, fun contests and pure altruism intersect for Table to Table’s Virtual Walk on April 1-30th, 2022
Hasbrouck Heights, NJ, March 30, 2022 –Table to Table, New Jersey’s first food rescue organization, is on a mission to raise enough funds to provide 1 million meals for our food insecure neighbors in Northern NJ, through its Table to Table Virtual Walk taking place April 1-30. Designed as a fun, flexible fundraising event, The Virtual Walk lets participants set the pace and pick their place. And, participants have the opportunity to win amazing prizes from Target, Athleta, DoorDash and more by entering the photo contest and using the hashtag #tabletotablewalk. To register or to become a sponsor, visit www.tabletotable.org/virtualwalk.
“Table to Table is grateful for the many Virtual Walk participants who will fundraise to help feed our hungry neighbors,” says Ilene Isaacs, Executive Director. “With Spring afoot, this is the perfect opportunity to get fit, win prizes and feed those in need one step at a time,” Isaacs concluded.
Why Participate in Table to Table’s Virtual Walk?
Food insecurity is something that plagues even wealthy states such as New Jersey. In fact, 1 in 9 NJ residents and nearly 1 in 5 NJ children do not know where their next meal is coming from. Help eliminate food insecurity, register to walk today.
What Contests and Prizes are being offered?
You’ll have a chance to win prizes by entering Table to Table’s Virtual Walk contests: including Top Fundraisers, Best Walking Partner, Best Group Theme and Most Scenic Walk. We can’t wait to see where your walking shoes take you! Use the hashtag #TabletoTableWalk to share your walk photos and tell us why you walk. Any walkers using this hashtag will be entered to win a $50 Amazon gift card. Prizes include gift cards from DoorDash, Target, Chipotle, Warby Parker, Athleta and more!
“With National Volunteer Week taking place on April 17 through April 23, Table to Table’s Virtual Walk is a great way for individuals and corporations to rally for a meaningful cause that impacts families, children, seniors, veterans and many others,” says Isaacs.
Cherry Hill Elementary School students took part in a fundraiser in support of Table to Table.
A River Edge School Raises Enough Funds for Table to Table’s Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch to Provide 52,860 Meals for Hungry NJ Neighbors
Table to Table, New Jersey’s first food rescue organization, recognizes the students at Cherry Hill Elementary School in River Edge, NJ with the 2021 Bernard and Geraldine Segal Foundation Award for Student Philanthropy in support of Table to Table’s ever-popular Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch initiative, which invites participants to donate what they would spend on lunch for a day, week, month or more to help Table to Table feed those who need it most.
“Our hats go off to the amazing students at Cherry Hill Elementary School for raising enough funds to provide 52,860 meals to our hungry neighbors,” says Ilene Isaacs, Executive Director of Table to Table. “This is a true representation of student community leadership, and we’re thrilled to recognize their tremendous efforts with the 2021 Bernard and Geraldine Segal Foundation Award for Student Philanthropy,” Isaacs concluded.
Through the kindness of The Bernard and Geraldine Segal Foundation, a challenge grant of $30,000 among all Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch participating schools in Northern NJ was established. Of the 41 schools that participated in 2021, Cherry Hill Elementary was the top fundraiser, raising enough to provide 52,680 meals. That number, along with the funds raised by the other schools, was generously doubled by the Bernard and Geraldine Segal Foundation.
“We are very proud of our students, faculty and administration for rallying behind Table to Table’s Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch campaign to help eliminate food insecurity,” says Denise Heitman, Principal of Cherry Hill Elementary School. “As a school, we have a long history of supporting those in need in our community, and it means so much to us to be acknowledged for our commitment,” Heitman concluded.
Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch is made possible by generous sponsors including: Presenting Sponsor: Inserra Supermarkets; Platinum Sponsor: Becton, Dickinson and Company; Gold Sponsor: Takasago; Silver Sponsors: The Children’s Place, Eisai and Konica Minolta; and Bronze Sponsors: Aetna, Aspen Insurance, Freedom Bank, Hackensack Meridian Health, Movado and PNC Bank.
To help Table to Table in their mission to address food insecurity in Northern New Jersey, Donate Now! And, if your organization would like to become a corporate partner, click here.
About Table to Table
Table to Table, http://www.tabletotable.org is New Jersey’s first and only solely dedicated community-based 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, day care centers, and programs for the working poor. Food is provided free of charge. Table to Table raises all its own funds every year, and this year will deliver enough food for 39 million meals.
School Raises Enough Funds to Provide 52,860 Meals for Hungry NJ Neighbors
Hasbrouck Heights, NJ March 21, 2022 Table to Table, New Jersey’s first food rescue organization, recognizes the students at Cherry Hill Elementary School in River Edge, NJ with the 2021 Bernard and Geraldine Segal Foundation Award for Student Philanthropy in support of Table to Table’s ever-popular Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch initiative, which invites participants to donate what they would spend on lunch for a day, week, month or more to help Table to Table feed those who need it most.
“Our hats go off to the amazing students at Cherry Hill Elementary School for raising enough funds to provide 52,860 meals to our hungry neighbors,” says Ilene Isaacs, Executive Director of Table to Table. “This is a true representation of student community leadership, and we’re thrilled to recognize their tremendous efforts with the 2021 Bernard and Geraldine Segal Foundation Award for Student Philanthropy,” Isaacs concluded.
Through the kindness of The Bernard and Geraldine Segal Foundation, a challenge grant of $30,000 among all Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch participating schools in Northern NJ was established. Of the 41 schools that participated in 2021, Cherry Hill Elementary was the top fundraiser, raising enough to provide 52,680 meals. That number, along with the funds raised by the other schools, was generously doubled by the Bernard and Geraldine Segal Foundation.
“We are very proud of our students, faculty and administration for rallying behind Table to Table’s Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch campaign to help eliminate food insecurity,” says Denise Heitman, Principal of Cherry Hill Elementary School. “As a school, we have a long history of supporting those in need in our community, and it means so much to us to be acknowledged for our commitment,” Heitman concluded.
Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch is made possible by generous sponsors including: Presenting Sponsor: Inserra Supermarkets; Platinum Sponsor: Becton, Dickinson and Company; Gold Sponsor: Takasago; Silver Sponsors: The Children’s Place, Eisai and Konica Minolta; and Bronze Sponsors: Aetna, Aspen Insurance, Freedom Bank, Hackensack Meridian Health, Movado and PNC Bank.
To help Table to Table in their mission to address food insecurity in Northern New Jersey, Donate Now! For more information on Table to Table, visit us at www.tabletotable.org.
About Table to Table
Table to Table, http://www.tabletotable.org is New Jersey’s first and only solely dedicated community-based 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, day care centers, and programs for the working poor. Food is provided free of charge. Table to Table raises all its own funds every year, and this year will deliver enough food for 39 million meals.
Nonprofits, volunteers gather unwanted food from retailers to distribute through pantries
Demand for food assistance is staying high even as the COVID-19 pandemic fades, and New Jersey’s food “rescue” groups are playing a critical role in keeping people fed.
Nonprofits collect unwanted but still edible food from retailers and give it to pantries, soup kitchens and community groups who distribute it to those who may still need help feeding their families even if they have gone back to work.
The food may be approaching its sell-by date, or be less than perfect in appearance, but plays an important part in the state’s food-assistance network during what is expected to be a long hangover from the pandemic, according to nonprofit leaders.
Even as more people return to work, many are struggling with debts built up when they were unable to work or did not collect a regular paycheck, and a recent increase in food prices makes it harder to feed a family.
“I would love to say that we’re going out of business but I’m afraid that’s just not the case,” said Julie Kinner, vice president of operations at Table to Table, a nonprofit that rescues food for pantries and soup kitchens in Essex, Hudson, Passaic and Bergen counties. “We’re seeing a lot of people going back to work, which is wonderful. But their back bills over the time they weren’t working or didn’t have a consistent paycheck are catching up to them.”
No letup in demand
The increasing return to work has also created demand for food distribution points that are open outside of work hours, and that has led some of them to open later than they did during the pandemic, Kinner said.
Table to Table distributed about 25 million pounds of mostly perishable food last year, or enough for about 25 million meals. The food comes from supermarkets, grocery stores and distributors who have taken it off their shelves because of coming expiration dates or slight damage, and would otherwise throw it in the trash.
New Jersey’s leading food banks have predicted that demand for food assistance will stay high for months or years after the pandemic fades. They contend that economic distress created by the pandemic will last a lot longer than the public health emergency, and that some people will look for food assistance as they struggle to make ends meet.
The Food Bank of South Jersey, which serves four counties, rescued some 5.6 million pounds of food in 2021, said its chief operating officer, Charles Hosier. “Those donations cut down on food waste and address the critical hunger needs of South Jersey residents,” he said.
Food retailers or users generating more than 52 tons of food waste a year are now required to separate and recycle the waste to comply with New Jersey’s Food Waste Law, which was passed in April 2020. That, plus the efforts of the food-rescue groups, has reduced the volume of food waste but too much is still needlessly thrown away, advocates say.
‘So much food going to waste’
“Even if it was dated that day, I know I can get it into the hands of families that need it,” said Claudia Wheeler, founder and sole operator of the Salt Foundation, a Jersey City-based nonprofit that rescues 800-1,200 pounds of food in a typical a day.
Wheeler said she’s seeing more demand for food now because some volunteer-run pantries are closing down as the pandemic ebbs, leaving their customers looking for other sources.
“During COVID there were a lot of community organizations that wanted to help the community,” she said. “That has gone down a lot and that has increased the amount of food I get and the number of people who come to me.”
She rescues food from Trader Joe’s, Wegmans and Walmart, and redistributes it through food pantries and churches. She also runs her own distribution events and has recently expanded those to twice weekly because “there’s so much food going to waste.”
Carlos Roldan, program director for a food-pantry program run by Catholic Charities in Paterson, Franklin and Dover, estimated that 15% of his total food is rescued from supermarkets and other sources.
The rescued food helps to feed some 20,000 people a month, said Roldan, who gives out 1,000 bags of food a day.
Close to sell-by date
He recently received three pallets of cheese about 10 days before its sell-by date of March 14. The donor decided it would be unable to sell the cheese by that date but Roldan accepted it because he knew it would be in strong demand.
Produce that is beginning to wilt or otherwise looks unsellable is another likely donation, and Roldan knows his clients will gladly accept it. “A lot of vegetables that are starting to look kind of ugly we can take,” he said. “I know we can use them right away.”
His suppliers include Costco in Wayne, which donates six to eight pallets of produce per week, according to a spokeswoman.
But there’s less food available for donation now that people are working and shopping more, the spokeswoman said. “Right now, our sales are picking up so it’s not as much being left over for the next day to be given away. People are going back to work so they are shopping more.”
Donors are motivated by the Food Waste Law, and by a growing awareness that they can reduce waste and feed the hungry at the same time, said Kinner of Table to Table.
“So many of these companies are looking towards the environment, and knowing that they are throwing away good stuff that people should be eating,” she said. “We’re lucky enough to benefit from it.”
Steve Adubato speaks with Ilene Isaacs, Executive Director, Table to Table, about the mission of Table to Table, the current state of food insecurity in New Jersey, and the ways the pandemic and Hurricane Ida impacted their work and the communities they serve.
Happy Holidays!!! On todays’s video, we talk with a special Community-based food rescue program called Table to Table, Inc. Table to Table rescues food that would otherwise go to waste and delivers it to those in need throughout NJ. Since 1999, we’ve delivered enough food for 257million meals.’
We’d love to tell you more about our work and the communities that we impact. They are based out of NJ and are doing great work moving food from Point A to Point B to help the community feed its people with many connecting points to the military community also.
Please connect with them at Table to Table. 611 Route 46 West, Suite 240. Hasbrouck Heights, NJ 07604. Telephone: (201) 444-5500. They Need your Help to Help others. Table to Table link: Food for Those in Need – Table to Table Table to Table I-Rescue App: New! Table To Table I-Rescue – Table to Table
My name is Jerome and I’m from Long Island, New York. I served in the US. Air Force for over 5 years, during the gulf war. The military way is to treat everyone on your team the same as your family. That’s the foundation for Brothers From Another Mother cooking or B.F.A.M. Cooking because everyone can be your “fam”, especially at the dining table. My videos range from delicious, original recipes that I’ve created to American cuisine restaurant owners who I wanted to know better. You’ll also find videos about cooking tools that I love and wanted to share with you. Please contribute to my foodie community by subscribing and following me.
Looking to help drive economic opportunity and upward mobility, Bank of America announced Tuesday that it will be making more than $4.2 million in grants to 75 New Jersey nonprofits.
The grants, announced during “Giving Tuesday,” will be used by groups that focus on basic needs, affordable housing, workforce development and small business and economic revitalization, Bank of America New Jersey President Alberto Garofalo said.
“As part of our commitment to sustainable growth, helping local organizations address immediate short- and long-term needs has been key on our path of economic recovery,” he said. “By supporting New Jersey’s incredible network of nonprofits, Bank of America is providing philanthropic capital to help advance economic and social progress, establishing pathways to success and stability for our community.”
Vicky Hernandez, executive director of Ironbound Community Corp., said the support from Bank of America will enable her group to deepen its work and impact around ensuring an equitable neighborhood and city through eviction prevention and affordable housing preservation.
“Building community by investing in our children and families is key to the work we do at Ironbound Community Corp.,” she said. “As we continue this important work, we are grateful for Bank of America’s support and are eager to expand on our programs to uplift the community, not uproot.”
Here’s a look at all the groups receiving grants, according to BofA:
Affordable Housing Alliance
African American Chamber of Commerce
America’s Grow-a-Row
Bergen County’s United Way
Boys & Girls Club of Newark
Boys & Girls Club of Mercer County
Boys & Girls Clubs of New Jersey
Center for Non-Profits
Central Jersey Housing Resource Center
Community FoodBank of New Jersey
Community Foundation of New Jersey-Newark Summer Youth Employment Program
Commissioner Amoroso is joined by Table to Table Vice President of Operations Julie Kinner to discuss a great initiative to provide turkeys to those in need during the holidays.
Welcome back to the Bergen County Commissioners Podcast, where we discuss the wonderful programs and events that we have in our county. And now over to today’s host.
Mary: Hi. I’m Bergen County Commissioner Mary Amaroso, and this is the Bergen County Commissioner’s podcast. Well, we’re coming up to Thanksgiving season, and I know food distribution effort are ongoing. We commissioners were in Dumont for a food distribution for the needy just this week. Today we are joined by Julie Kinner, who is the vice president of operations for Table to Table, which has a new Thanksgiving initiative, which you can access through their I Rescue food app. Believe it or not, you can do this through an app and you can donate. So I’m going to start you back from the beginning. Julie, how are you?
Julie: Very good, thank you. Thank you so much for having me and allowing me to speak about Table to Table and about the I Rescue app, which we are so excited about.
Mary: Yeah. Okay, so let’s start with Table to Table, which is a great organization. You’ve been in business since 1999, right? Isn’t that crazy?
Julie: Yes. And since then, we have rescued and delivered the equivalent of 227,000,000 meals and rescued about 74,000 tons of potentially wasted food from landfills.
Mary: Okay, so tell me how this works. And we’ve been much more aware of it for some reason this year. God bless you. So when you’re rescuing food, where are you rescuing it from?
Julie: We have seven refrigerated trucks, and they work out of Bergen, Hudson, Essex, and Pasaic counties. And we’re picking up from Acme, from Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, all of our local well known grocery stores. We’re picking up from places like Hello Fresh and Marley, Spoon, Driscoll, places that distribute food, places that would have food that could potentially be wasted. And they’re donating it to us. And then we are delivering it to over 200 places that are feeding the hungry within the four counties, all Bergen, Hudson, Essexam, Pasaic.
Mary: That’s great. And you’re doing it year round, but Thanksgiving is a particularly sensitive or highly accorded season, right?
Julie: Yeah, absolutely. During the holidays, we always say we’ll meet people 365 days of the year, but during the holidays is certainly a time when we really get a lot of asks. A lot of agencies that we haven’t worked with before, a lot of individuals that we haven’t worked with before are reaching out looking because they want to be able to celebrate the holidays like everyone else does. They really would like to be able to sit at a table that has nourishing food turkey and all the incredible sides that we all know what Thanksgiving brings to mind sweet potatoes, mash, whatever. And they want to be able to do the same, and there is no reason they shouldn’t be. They absolutely should be able to sit down to something wonderful with their families during the holidays.
Mary: Okay, so you got an app for this by the way, this initiative is called the Great Bergen County Turkey Take, right? And you can participate in this as a regular person via your app. You have a food app which is called I Rescue.
Julie: We do. We have this incredible app that we launched the end of April. The app was through Food Rescue Hero, which is actually a group that help us establish the app. And then Bergen County and the Russell Berry Foundation actually helped us to launch it as well. It allows us to connect volunteers with donors, with recipients. You can download the app. It is iOS, as well as whatever the other one is. I always forget what the two are, but go on the app.
Mary: Google Play. Google Play. Google Play.
Julie: Thank you. I know my teenagers are now rolling their eyes.
Mary: I know the feeling, but yeah.
Julie: So you can go on the App Store, download table to table, I Rescue, and you fill it out. It’s very simple. You register yourself and you allow notifications. When there is a rescue within your area, a notification will pop up on your phone and tell you, we’re picking up today at Mivo Farms. And if you’re able to, you go you pick up and you can claim the rescue. Go pick up and then deliver it to a local agency. The directions are so clear. It gives you maps, it gives you contact people, it gives you who to text, who to call. It’s just so fun. I actually just did one this morning. I picked up from Panera in Northvale and I delivered to St. Andrews Church in Westwood where they give out food and clothing. And it’s simple and it’s just really fun to do. I feel very techy when I do it, which is very cool. And the turkey Take is something we have always wanted to be able to do, something very holiday ish. We’ve always wanted to do something where we could involve more volunteers around the holidays. And this app is now allowing us to be able to do that. If you a lot of people are getting a free turkey these days, shop, right? And Shoprite is giving them a free turkey or a ham, and many times it just sits in their freezer because they’ve already purchased a turkey or for whatever reason they don’t use it. We’re giving now the opportunity. If you have that extra turkey, reach out to us. You can reach out to us at volunteer@tabletotable.org and say, I’ve got a turkey to donate. If you are interested in doing the donation yourself, doing the rescue yourself, we can put you into the app. Then you’ll get a notification saying you’re all set, and we’ll tell you where you can deliver it to. If you’re not comfortable with it and you just want someone to do that for you, certainly we can send a volunteer to you to pick up the turkey and then to make the donation for you. It’s simple. I’ve said this before, but donating a turkey is so much more gratifying than donating something like a can of soup. While the soup is fantastic, especially as it’s getting colder, when you’re donating a turkey, you’re really giving so much more. You’re giving a large amount of protein that the family can feast on for potentially a couple of days, depending on the size of the turkey and the size of the family.
Mary: Right. And they’re easy, their sense of ease with all those leftover turkey recipes.
Julie: Right, absolutely.
Mary: Okay. One of the ways you can do it is under the I Rescue Food app.
Julie: Yes.
Mary: But also you can did you say text volunteer?
Julie: Yeah, you can email volunteer@tabletop.org or who should you call if you are not technologically? Yeah, they can reach out to Andrea Ibera. So let me of course, I don’t have her phone, so Andrea, you can reach out to Andrea. She’s at 551-25-5684. And Andrea is our app manager and our source manager as well. And so she can absolutely set it up for you. She can easily set up either a volunteer to come in and pick it up, or she can let you know where to go to deliver it again. It’s satisfying donating something like that any time of the year, but during the holidays, it’s really something special.
Mary: And do you have a sense of how many frozen turkeys you expect to be rescuing?
Julie: We really have no idea. This is the first year we’re doing this, so any donation to us is a success. Yeah, we make it easy. I think it’s a great thing because I was just reading one of my friends on Facebook saying, well, I have my turkey from last year that has been frozen, so I thought I’d better cook it so that I have room for the new frozen turkey.
Mary: Right. So this is a great way to use those turkeys that you get from shoprite, et cetera.
Julie: Absolutely. Yeah. Right.
Mary: Okay. And the other thing we should point out that you also accept regular cash donate, correct.
Julie: Absolutely. We wouldn’t be a charity if we didn’t.
Mary: There you go. Absolutely. So if you want to donate cash, how does one do bitcoin?
Julie: Go to our regular website, and the information for the app is also on the regular website, but they can go to www.tabletable.org. And that will absolutely. They can click donate now. They can really look at their stories. There’s photographs. There’s so much on the website to give any more information. To give much more information.
Mary: I want to thank you, Julie Kinner of Table to Table, for all you and your folks do all during the year and especially at this holiday season. Thank you.
Julie: Thank you so much, Commissioner, and have a beautiful Thanksgiving.
Mary: Okay, thank you. Take care. Bye. Thank you for listening to another Bergen County Commissioner’s podcast. If you have any ideas for future podcasts, please email podcast at co bergen, NJ us.
