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Table to Table Food Rescue held their annual Chef’s Gala at Edgewood Country Club

https://www.bcthemag.com/post/table-to-table-1

Editor’s note: This blog post originally appeared on Common Impact’s website. Click here to read the rest of the blog.

When you think of a hero, you might picture someone in a cape. But at Table to Table, heroes come in all forms. Some drive minivans full of food, and some are retirees with a little extra time. In this spotlight, we sat down with Stephanie Conley-Webb, volunteer manager at Table to Table, to hear how her organization is tackling hunger across New Jersey through creative food rescue strategies and community partnerships, including skills-based volunteering.

Today, thanks to I-Rescue and the support of our amazing volunteers, we recover surplus food from local restaurants, grocery stores, caterers, and corporate and school cafeterias, among many others.
Stephanie Conley-Webb, Table to Table’s volunteer coordinator

Stephanie shares powerful stories that show the impact of Table to Table’s work. She also reflects on how Table to Table leveled up its volunteer program after participating in a skills-based volunteering project with Novartis and Common Impact. The insights they gained about storytelling, inclusion, and how a simple name change can spark big engagement are already making a difference.

“We’re celebrating 26 years of impact this year and know we can always do more. In 2021, we realized that sending a 26-foot refrigerated truck to pick up a few pizzas from a local pizzeria wasn’t the best use of resources. That’s when we partnered with a food rescue app, launching our I-Rescue program. What started as a way to recover a few hundred thousand pounds of food quickly grew,” Stephanie said. “In 2024 alone, we rescued over 1.8 million pounds of food that would have otherwise gone to waste through the app. Today, thanks to I-Rescue and the support of our amazing volunteers, we recover surplus food from local restaurants, grocery stores, caterers, and corporate and school cafeterias, among many others.”

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's annual Chefs Gala is Oct. 9 at Edgewood Country Club

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in Total Food Service magazine’s October 2025 issue. Click here to read the rest of the article.

In kitchens all across New Jersey, long before any guests are seated and well after the last table is cleared, chefs are doing something more than cooking. They’re feeding people who can’t afford to dine out—some who can’t afford to eat at all That commitment to serve extends beyond their restaurants, and it’s made possible by the quite force that drives this movement year after year: Table to Table.

For over two decades, Table to Table has been the guiding link between food excess and food need. It’s not a food pantry. It’s not a soup kitchen. It’s the engine behind a logistics miracle — rescuing fresh, nutritious food that would otherwise go to waste and getting it to places where it’s desperately needed. In doing so, it’s become a lifeline for more than 300 partners —shelters, food pantries, community centers, and school programs — across Northern New Jersey.

On Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, the people who make this effort possible — New Jersey’s chefs — will gather at Edgewood Country Club in River Vale for one extraordinary night: the Table to Table Chefs Gala. It’s not just a fundraiser; it’s a celebration of generosity, talent, and shared purpose.

Ryan DePersio, co-chair of the event, reflected on the impact of the night.

“It’s not a typical charity event,” DePersio said. “It’s almost 300 people we’re cooking for, but each table gets their own chef. That personal interaction is rare, and the guests love it as much as we do.”

Related:

Editor’s note: This story originally ran on Jersey Bites’ website.

Food lovers, mark your calendars—Thursday, October 9 is the night Table to Table’s legendary Chefs Gala takes over Edgewood Country Club in River Vale. This over-the-top food lover’s dream brings together 25+ incredible chefs, impeccable wine pairings, local breweries and distilleries, and an exciting live auction—all to support Table to Table’s food rescue mission.

This Chefs Gala offers a unique personal dining experience in the setting of an elegant Gala with unforgettable cuisine, impeccable wine pairings, an exciting live auction, and so much more—all in support of Table to Table’s mission to rescue food, reduce food waste, and relieve hunger in our communities.

This year, the spotlight shines on Chef Christian Petroni—Bronx-born Italian American chef, restaurateur, and TV personality. Known for his infectious energy, love of red sauce, and fan-favorite Food Network appearances (Food Network Star winner, Chopped, Guy’s Grocery Games, Beat Bobby Flay), Petroni has built his career around connecting people through food. His debut cookbook, Parm to Table, drops September 23, 2025.

Not only is Chris’ passion for food, family, and community infectious, he is also strongly aligned with Table to Table’s food rescue mission.”
Heather Thompson, executive director of Table to Table

Who’s Cooking

This is no ordinary gala dinner. Guests will be served tableside by a powerhouse lineup of chefs:

John Michael Beam – Aficionado Coffee Roasters
Brandon Campney – Sterling Inn
AJ Capella – Summit House
Bianca Concepcion and Jeff Galan – Fossil Farms
Michael Cosenza – Mike’s Pasta Shoppe
Mary Cumella and Logan Ramirez – Gioia Mia
Ryan DePersio – Battello, Kitchen Step, Ember & Eagle, and TillingHouse
David Felton – Morris Proper
Leia Gaccione – The Saint Clair
Felix Gonzalez – Viaggio Ristorante
Melany Gonzalez – Saddle River Inn
Alex Gorant – Axia Taverna
Bryan Gregg – Blue Morel
Dan Lipow – Foraged Feast
Lulu’s Truck
Christina Marcelli – Marcelli Formaggi
Off The Hook Seafood
Sal Pisani – Jersey Artisan Co.
Timothy Quinlan – Ava’s Kitchen
Andrew Riccatelli – Bacarosa
Dean Schreefer – Echo Lake Country Club
Robert Sigona – Gelotti
Tom Silvestri – Ora
Melissa Stanard – The Goods
Lawrence Talis – The Committed Pig
Joe Tartamella – Canoe Brook Country Club
Geoff Taylor – The 130 Club
Christina Vene – Cakes of Wrath
Wine pairings provided by Chuck Russo’s Wine and Spirit World

Breweries, Wineries, and Distilleries

Frankie Medina – JCR Hospitality, Battello, Kitchen Step, Ember & Eagle, and Tillinghouse
Dirty Pelican
Don Julio
Ghost Hawk Brewery
Sangri
Silk City Distillers
Tito’s
Wilson Daniels Wines

Special Recognition

This year, Table to Table will also induct Edgar Brieva, James P. Bush, the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation, Chef Jamie Milkman, and Gerard Woods into the Founder’s Table, which honors extraordinary supporters of the nonprofit’s 26-year mission.

Why It Matters

Every $1 raised = 10 healthy meals rescued and delivered to New Jersey neighbors in need. Since 1999, Table to Table has provided more than 241 million meals by redirecting surplus food to pantries, shelters, and community hubs.

Related:

Personal, Multi-Course Dining Extravaganza, Featuring 25+ Notable Chefs, Takes Over Edgewood Country Club on October 9th

September 4, 2025 – Saddle Brook, NJ – On Wednesday, October 9th, Table to Table, New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue organization, will welcome to its Chefs Gala more than 25 notable chefs who will personally serve their signature multi-course menus tableside for guests. Shining in the spotlight will be this year’s honoree, Christian Petroni, the charismatic Italian American chef, restaurateur, and author. Table to Table’s Chefs Gala will be held at Edgewood Country Club in River Vale, NJ on October 9th at 5:30 pm. Seats are limited, so reserve your table today!

“We are delighted to welcome Christian Petroni as our Honoree at this year’s Chefs Gala,” said Heather Thompson, Executive Director, Table to Table. “Not only is Chris’ passion for food, family, and community infectious; he is also strongly aligned with Table to Table’s food rescue mission and has a deep commitment to nourishing our neighbors in need,” Thompson concluded.

Chef Honoree Christian Petroni

From the age of six, all Christian ever wanted to do was to become a chef. Born and raised in the Bronx, NY, he spent his early years in the kitchen under the tutelage of Andy Pforzheimer and the Barteca Group until opening his own wood-fire Italian restaurant, Fortina. He opened five more successful restaurants in just eight years, becoming one of New York’s authorities on Italian cuisine and the art of red sauce. Christian hit the national stage, winning Next Food Network Star season 14 and became an instant fan favorite through his charm and infectious positivity. He became a recurring guest judge on Food Network shows that include: Chopped, Beat Bobby Flay, Guy’s Grocery Games, Diners Drive Ins, and Dives, and Tournament of Champions. Christian founded Gabagool Media, a multi-media and consulting company specializing in content creation, apparel, and providing guidance for chefs and small businesses worldwide. Christian’s first cookbook, Parm to Table, hits shelves Sept. 23, 2025. At his core, Christian loves to connect with people through food and lives to make them feel like family.

Co-Chairpersons Chefs Jamie Knott and Ryan DePersio

Chef Jamie Knott is owner of Saddle River Inn, Saddle River Cafe, Cellar 335, and Madame. He is also a Table to Table Trustee. Chef Ryan De Persio is the Chef/Partner of Battello, Kitchen Step, Ember & Eagle, and TillingHouse. Both are long-time supporters of Table to Table’s food rescue mission.

2025 Chef Gala Participants

Breweries, Wineries, and Distilleries

Frankie Medina – JCR Hospitality, Battello, Kitchen Step, Ember & Eagle, and Tillinghouse
Dirty Pelican
Don Julio
Ghost Hawk Brewery
Sangri
Silk City Distillers
Tito’s
Wilson Daniels Wines

At this year’s Chefs Gala, Table to Table will proudly welcome five new members to its Founder’s Table: Edgar Brieva, James P. Bush, Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation, Chef Jamie Milkman, and Gerard Woods.

The Founder’s Table was established in 2023 by Table to Table’s Founder Claire Insalata Poulos to recognize individuals, companies and foundations that have provided extraordinary support to the nonprofit over its 26-year history.

Sponsors for this year’s Table to Table’s Chefs Gala include: American Express (Presenting); Crestron (Grand); Arca Restaurant and Lounge, David and Kathleen Hildes, Inserra ShopRite Supermarkets, and Summit Associates (Platinum); Restoration Technologies Inc. (Gold); Takasago and Tito’s Homemade Vodka (Silver); The YMCA Meadowlands (Bronze); and Charles Schwab (Bronze).

To help Table to Table in their mission to reduce food waste and address food insecurity in New Jersey, you can make a donation today – every dollar you contribute provides resources for the organization to rescue and deliver food for 10 healthy meals. For more information on Table to Table, visit www.tabletotable.org.

About Table to Table

Table to Table (http://www.tabletotable.org) is New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue nonprofit, bridging the gap between food being wasted and people facing food insecurity. We work with food businesses of all types to rescue fresh, nutritious surplus food, and deliver it for free to 300+ social service organizations, pantries, shelters, community produce markets and centralized distribution hubs. Through our community partnerships, Table to Table reaches families, children, veterans, older adults, and others in need, improving food security, nutritional access, and better health. 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, while also saving over 544 metric tons of methane from impacting climate change by preventing food waste

Related:

Join us for this A-list of culinary talent, impeccable dining, and altruism, benefitting our neighbors experiencing food insecurity! The Chefs Gala is back with a stunning line up of more than 25 notable chefs—and shining in the spotlight—is this year’s Chef Honoree, the incredibly popular Italian-American Celebrity Chef, restauranteur, and author, Christian Petroni!

Event Information

Edgewood Country Club

449 Rivervale Road

River Vale, NJ

Date: Oct. 9, 2025

Time: 5:30 p.m.

Price: $650 a ticket

Website: https://tabletotable.org/chefsgala2025/

Related:

Chef Jamie Knott, a Table to Table trustee, uses locally sourced, seasonal ingredients.

Editor’s note: This article about acclaimed Chef Jamie Knott’s Saddle River Inn being named among the 25 most essential restaurants in North Jersey first ran on NorthJersey.com. Click here to read the entire article.

The Saddle River Inn, one of the acclaimed restaurants owned by Chef Jamie Knott, was named one of the 25 most essential restaurants in North Jersey by NorthJersey.com.

“Saddle River Inn is essential,” the website reported. “If it closed tomorrow, North Jersey dining would be worse for it.”

The article described Knott as a chef who clearly cares about his craft and the restaurant industry in New Jersey. Knott was the chef honoree at our annual gala in 2024 “not only for his culinary chops but for his work lifting other restaurateurs and supporting the organization’s effort to fight food insecurity through food rescue.”

Jamie Knott is Table to Table's 2024 Chef Honoree.

Chef Jamie Knott

“There’s enough food on this planet for everyone who is food insecure. But it’s not always making its way to the right mouths,” Knott said at the gala. “That’s why Table to table is so crucial, and frankly, they’re saving lives out here. I vow to carry on the incredible work that’s been done over the last two and a half decades, and look for ways to expand our reach and impact even further.”

Knott also recently participated in a celebratory third anniversary celebration of Chef Antonio De Ieso’s Fiorentini restaurant, an event that helped raise enough to support the rescue and delivery of nearly 300,000 pounds of healthy food!

The distinction bestowed by NorthJersey.com is the latest of several recent honors for Knott and the inn.

OpenTable named the inn to its annual list of the top 100 eateries in the United States.

Knott was also named one of the top restauranteurs in the Garden State by New Jersey Monthly magazine last year.

is also the chef-owner of Madame and Kinjo. He warmly welcomes guests for flavorful, unforgettable dining experiences focused on locally sourced, fresh ingredients, reflecting his commitment to quality. These restaurants “have quickly become some of the most celebrated restaurants in New Jersey this year,” New Jersey Monthly stated.

Knott’s portfolio of restaurants is consistently praised and acknowledged by media and influencers alike. Educated at the New York Restaurant School, Knott’s career is marked by innovation and a deep understanding of the culinary world.

Related:

The Saddle River Inn, an acclaimed restaurant owned by Table to Table’s newest Board of Directors trustee, Jamie Knott, was named to OpenTable’s annual list of the top 100 eateries in the United States.

The honor is the latest in a series of accolades Knott has received this year.

He was named the Chef Honoree at Table to Table’s 25th Anniversary Chefs Gala Sept. 25.

Knott was also named one of the top restauranteurs in the Garden State by New Jersey Monthly magazine.

Knott is also the chef-owner of Madame and Kinjo. He warmly welcomes guests for flavorful, unforgettable dining experiences focused on locally sourced, fresh ingredients, reflecting his commitment to quality. These restaurants “have quickly become some of the most celebrated restaurants in New Jersey this year,” New Jersey Monthly stated.

Congratulations, Chef Jamie Knott!

Since we launched, more than 350 volunteers have completed more than 9,600 rescues and delivered more than 2 million pounds of donated food that would have been thrown away.

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 end up in landfills, contributing to climate change. We deliver it to partner organizations who support the nearly 1 million people in our area who need it most.

https://www.opentable.com/c/top-restaurants/top-100/#new-jersey

Credit: OpenTable

Related: Table to Table’s 25th Anniversary Chefs Gala
Related: Chef Jamie Knott, Table to Table’s Chefs Gala Honoree, Named a Top NJ Restauranteur
Related: 2024 Chefs Gala Honoree: Chef Jamie Knott

Starting with a van and a dream, Claire Insalata Poulos has spent a quarter-century fighting food insecurity and food waste with the nonprofit Table to Table.

In just one recent year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says, roughly 66 million tons of food were wasted in America. If even a fraction of that could be “rescued,” millions of people could be fed every day. That is the idea behind the Saddle Brook-based nonprofit Table to Table—and the animating passion of its founder, Claire Insalata Poulos.

A California native, 68-year-old Poulos moved to Bergen County in 1974 while working for IBM’s marketing team and lived in Englewood for 35 years with her husband, Peter Poulos, whose family owned and operated the iconic NYC restaurant Papaya King before he sold it in 2002. She now splits her time between California and Bergen County. Taking a year off from working in 1984, she enrolled in a patisserie program at the Culinary Institute of America, and then in professional chef training at Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School (now the Institute of Culinary Education). Then she worked briefly as a volunteer for Share Our Strength, a national nonprofit, raising money for local hunger relief. At the time, food pantries were the only agencies serving the hungry of northern New Jersey. City Harvest, a New York City food rescue nonprofit, declined her suggestion of expansion into New Jersey, but pledged to share help and advice if she wanted to start a similar project herself. She did.

So, starting with a single van on Labor Day weekend 1999, Poulos and a few others picked up food from two supermarkets and the Alpine Country Club and delivered it to three agencies in Elizabeth and Paterson. Table to Table was born, and became Poulos’s full-time job once she retired from IBM. Twenty-five years later, the nonprofit has rescued more than 100,000 tons of nutritious food and given it those who needed it most.

How did your love of food start?

I come from a family of Italian food brats. Everyone cooks. We talk about food, we cook together, and we’re always trying to “out-dazzle” each other with some delicious new dish. My mother was a traditional ’50s homemaker with six children. We ate together at 5:30 every night. That table was our gathering place. It was inclusive, welcoming to out-siders, the stage for debates and a safe place for ideas and plans. The food connected us.

What inspired you to start Table to Table?

A lot of things. Growing up in California and seeing all the food left in the fields. Cooking school, where we’d prepare elaborate dishes every day, which we’d then taste, critique and ultimately discard. I remember asking if I could take the “leftovers” someplace to be eaten. But in those days there weren’t many places willing to accept a Cherry Clafoutis or Galette Des Rois.

Any memories from Table to Table’s early days?

I worked with a local chef—Jamie Milkman from Jamie’s Restaurant on 9W. One day, during Thanks-giving weekend, he called me about several trays of leftover turkey sandwiches he had prepared for the holiday. “Hey, what can we do with all these leftover sandwiches?” he said. I loaded them into my trunk and took them to a safe house in Bergen County. They were devoured that night.

Signs of success?

It was satisfying when mothers came up to us and said, “I haven’t had fresh fruit like this to give my kids since last summer.” And a woman said: “I’m 87 years old, and I’ve never had a steak until now.”

A challenge from those early days?

Raising enough money to keep the trucks on the road. We were never without people willing to donate food or, certainly, places to bring it—funds were always the biggest challenge. We tried our best to distinguish ourselves and engage the community. Miraculously, it worked.

How has Table to Table grown?

We always knew we wanted to go deep rather than wide. Our focus was exclusively Bergen, Hudson, Passaic and Essex counties. But in 2021, when we started using the Table to Table I-Rescue app, there was such a huge response from the community that we decided to include Morris County as well. I took a picture once of people waiting for our food at one of our local mobile markets. I love that image, because it shows the diversity of everyone we serve—like a cross-section of New Jersey.

What does your family think of your charity work?

My siblings are all involved in volunteer work supporting their own communities, and my husband constantly complains that I never have time to make him dinner.

What’s your favorite place in Bergen?

Bergen County Camera. I always wanted to hone my photography skills, and I love the Westwood location.

Favorite Bergen restaurant?

Saddle River Inn. Jamie Knott is an incredibly talented guy—and he just joined the Table to Table board. (Lucky us!) I hope someday we’ll have the chance to cook together.

—Kirsten Meehan

Credit: Bergen Magazine

Table to Table has served millions of meals using food that would otherwise have been wasted. Its easy-to-use app allows for super-flexible volunteer opportunities.

About 40 percent of food in the United States gets thrown in the garbage. In New Jersey alone, that amounts to more than 3 billion pounds a year—while nearly a million people in the state don’t have enough to eat.

Twenty-five years ago, Table to Table, the first nonprofit food-rescue organization in the state, was formed to help close this gap. Since 1999, it has supplied more than 311 million meals to the hungry.

Keeping food out of landfills, where it emits methane gas as it decays, is a win for the environment, too. Table to Table has protected the planet from more than 73,000 tons of global-warming gasses.

“When good food gets thrown in a dumpster instead of feeding the people who need it, that’s an injustice; it’s unacceptable,” says Heather Thompson, executive director of the Saddle Brook-based nonprofit.

Unlike most food pantries that accept only nonperishable goods, Table to Table collects produce, meat and dairy products. “These tend to get thrown away much more frequently,” Thompson says. “They’re also the most difficult and expensive to access, but the most critical for health and well-being.”

A fleet of six refrigerated trucks picks up food from 350-plus donors each week. Most comes from Hello Fresh’s Newark distribution center, large and small grocery stores and restaurants, and even schools with leftover lunch items. The donations are typically delivered the same day to hunger-relief organizations in Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Passaic counties.

Individuals help out by transporting smaller donations. The organization’s I-Rescue app posts rescue opportunities, and volunteers pick up and deliver the food on a one-time or regular basis. “We’ve been able to expand how we support the community by adding the app,” Thompson says.

In 2023, Table to Table provided more than 23 million meals to neighbors in need. To celebrate their 25th anniversary, the goal is to provide 25 million meals this year.

Learn more about how you can help by visiting the Table to Table website.

Credit: New Jersey Monthly

Tag: New Jersey Monthly

Table to Table Food Rescue held their annual Chef’s Gala at Edgewood Country Club

Who’s Cooking

Special Recognition

Sponsors

Why It Matters

Personal, Multi-Course Dining Extravaganza, Featuring 25+ Notable Chefs, Takes Over Edgewood Country Club on October 9th

Event Information

Chef Jamie Knott, a Table to Table trustee, uses locally sourced, seasonal ingredients.

Starting with a van and a dream, Claire Insalata Poulos has spent a quarter-century fighting food insecurity and food waste with the nonprofit Table to Table.

Table to Table has served millions of meals using food that would otherwise have been wasted. Its easy-to-use app allows for super-flexible volunteer opportunities.

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