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Tag: free food pantries near me

Ridgewood students are leading the charge against food waste

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Ridgewood & Ho-Ho-Kus Magazine. Click here to read the rest of the article.

In the bustling kitchens of Ridgewood Public Schools, the end of the lunch bell no longer signals the end of a meal’s journey. Instead, it marks the beginning of a “rescue mission.”

Ridgewood has officially joined forces with Table to Table — New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue organization — to ensure that surplus food reaches the hands of those who need it most.

As of a January 2026, the district has completed 99 food rescues, recovering a stagging 7,489 pounds of nutritious food. The feat places Ridgewood at the forefront of sustainability as the first district in Bergen County — and the only the second in the state — to implement the I-Rescue Lunch program district wide.

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 276 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 133,271 tons of nutritious food — enough for 266,542,863 meals — and delivered it to our neighbors in need, saving over 612 metric tons of methane saved.

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Driver Edgar Brieva rescuing fresh produce from a farm for Table to Table.

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in City Lifestyle magazine’s The Oranges, Ramapo Valley, and Northern Highlands editions. Click here to read the rest of the article.

In northern New Jersey, where food insecurity touches every community and billions of pounds of edible food go to waste each year, Table to Table has built a mission rooted in compassion and efficiency. The nonprofit rescues fresh, perishable food and delivers it — free of charge — to neighbors who need it most.

For Executive Director Heather Thompson, the work is both urgent and deeply personal.

“Food represents so much — health, hope, comfort — and I believe it is a human right for everyone to have fresh, nutritious food,” she says. Thompson, whose career includes roles at Citymeals-on-Wheels, Eva’s Village and Norwescap, has seen how quickly families can fall into crisis. “Good, healthy food is often the first thing someone sacrifices when money is tight. And that should not be something we accept as a society.”

Last year, Table to Table rescued enough surplus food to provide more than 23 million meals across Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris and Passaic counties.

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.

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Editor’s note: This article first aired on News 12 New Jersey.

People who run food panties will say that it is not difficult to get people to donate during the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas. They say it’s the other 11 months that are hard.

A group of Bergen County fifth graders are helping to meet that need.

As part of a service project, kids at Willard Elementary in Ridgewood donated hundreds of pounds of fresh produce. All of it is going to Table to Table.

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 276 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 133,271 tons of nutritious food — enough for 266,542,863 meals — and delivered it to our neighbors in need, saving over 612 metric tons of methane saved.

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