Silver Defender donates protective film to food rescue charity

By: Jeffrey Kanige

Silver Defender, a Fort Lee-based maker of antimicrobial adhesive films, is donating its product to help protect drivers and other staff members at Table to Table, a non-profit program that collects and distributes food that would otherwise be discarded.

The company said in an Oct. 21 statement that it would launch the effort by covering the door handles and steering wheels on the charity’s delivery trucks, along with other hightouch surfaces in its offices. Table to Table serves Bergen, Hudson, Essex and Passaic counties.

“In a time filled with uncertainty, organizations like Table to Table play an important role in ensuring community needs are met,” said Zeynep “Z” Ekemen, Silver Defender’s managing partner. “We wanted to extend the highest standard of clean to the dedicated employees of Table to Table so they can service those in need safely.”

Silver Defender also donated covered high-touch surfaces with its films at Table to Table’s 5th Annual Golf Classic, held on Oct. 5. Money raised at the event helped the program provide more than 500,000 meals.

“While new partnerships are always exciting and very much welcomed, our relationship with Silver Defender resonates to the core of our mission,” said Ilene Isaacs,
executive director of the Hasbrouck Heights-based charity. “Table to Table is focused on the safe distribution of the fresh food we bring into the community. We are thrilled to be working with such an innovative group of women who are equally committed to keeping our neighbors safe and healthy. We look forward to exploring the many ways that we can work together.”

Silver Defender’s films are activated by light, air pressure and touch. Silver ions then act on pathogens, keeping the surfaces clean. In a recent interview, Ekemen told NJBIZ that she and her partners began developing the product two years ago and that they had it ready in January 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic began spreading across the U.S. She said the film is being used in a wide variety of buildings, including schools, stores, airports and offices. “We’re actually on every common area door of the World Trade Center building,” she said.

Table to Table’s refrigerated trucks pick up perishable food from about 150 donors, including restaurants, supermarkets, corporate and hospital cafeterias and food distribution facilities. The food is then delivered to more than 250 community organizations, ranging from soup kitchens and homeless shelters to senior adult facilities and day care centers. In August, financial services company CIT Group Inc. donated more than 100,000 meals to the organization. Table to Table said it delivered enough food last year to produce more than 26 million meals.

Credit: https://njbiz.com/