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Funds Raised Help Reduce Food Waste and Deliver Enough Food for More Than 23,000 Meals to Food Insecure Neighbors

Saddle Brook, NJ  June 20, 2025 — Table to Table, New Jersey’s first food rescue organization, salutes the students at Godwin and Highland Elementary Schools in Midland Park, NJ with the 2024-2025 Bernard and Geraldine Segal Foundation Award for Student Philanthropy in support of Table to Table’s Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch initiative, which invites participants to bring a bagged lunch to school for a day, a week, or more, and donate what they would have spent on lunch to help Table to Table reduce food waste and feed those who need it most.   

“What an impressive team! The students of Godwin and Highland Elementary Schools have stepped up as true community champions,” said Heather Thompson, Executive Director of Table to Table. “Thanks to their incredible support of Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch, we’ll be able to rescue food for more than 23,000 meals—reducing food waste and bringing nourishment to thousands of our New Jersey neighbors. Their leadership is a powerful reminder that the future is in great hands. We’re proud to honor them with the 2024-2025 Bernard and Geraldine Segal Foundation Award for Student Philanthropy,” Thompson 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 dozens of schools that participated in the 2024-2025 school year, Godwin and Highland Elementary Schools were the top fundraisers. The funds raised will rescue and deliver enough food for 23,000 healthy meals for those in need throughout Northern NJ. That number, along with funds raised by the other schools, was generously doubled by the Bernard and Geraldine Segal Foundation. 

“On behalf of Godwin and Highland Elementary Schools, we are honored to be the recipient of the 2024-2025 Bernard and Geraldine Segal Foundation Award for Student Philanthropy in support of Table to Table’s Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch,” said Danielle Bache, Principal of Godwin Elementary School. “We always encourage our students to make a difference in their communities, so we were more than thrilled to hear that our efforts provided enough food for 23,000 meals. I am so proud of these students,” Bache concluded.   

Schools have been key partners in our efforts to end food waste and end hunger for more than 25 years, engaging the next generation of Food Rescue Heroes to take action. Our School Partnerships webpage outlines all the ways schools and students can get involved. Participating schools can make a big impact and can use these activities to earn points through the Sustainable Jersey Schools Certification Program. As an added bonus, our school partners will receive an exclusive Digital Educational Toolkit with grade-specific (Pre-K-8th Grade) lesson plans, activities and videos to help students learn about food waste and food donations.

Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch is made possible by generous sponsors including, Presenting Sponsor: Inserra Supermarkets; Gold Sponsors: Eisai USA Foundation, Kearny Bank, and Benjamin Moore; Silver Sponsors: BAE Systems, Cross River Bank, Hikma, Macy’s/Bloomingdales, Takasago, and The Children’s Place; Bronze Sponsors: DoorDash, Freedom Bank, Peapack-Gladstone Bank, and PNC Bank.

To help Table to Table in their mission to reduce food waste and address food insecurity in New Jersey, Donate Now! For more information on Table to Table, visit us at www.tabletotable.org. 

About 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 work with food businesses of all types to rescued 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. 

Contact: 

Maria Sinopoli, Director of Marketing Communications: msinopoli@tabletotable.org 

Every little bit counts.

Second-graders at Anna C. Scott Elementary School in Leonia held a fresh produce drive for Table to Table recently. One by one students packed fresh apples, oranges, bananas, strawberries, avocadoes, and other produce into boxes.

Slowly, the boxes filled up and by the end of the event, the students had donated hundreds of pounds of produce. Students also drew inspirational messages on the boxes urging people to donate more fruit and vegetables when they can.

A Table to Table volunteer brought the food to the Parent Teacher Association of the Fairmount School in Hackensack, where they distributed it.

It was the second time students at Anna C. Scott Elementary School hosted a produce drive for Table to Table.

Students from Anna C. Scott Elementary School in Leonia donated hundreds of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to Table to Table recently

Schools like yours can join us in our mission to reduce food waste and relieve hunger in New Jersey! We offer several school-focused programs, including:

Click here for more information about our school-based initiatives.

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 work with food businesses of all types to rescued 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
Students from Anna C. Scott Elementary School in Leonia donated hundreds of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to Table to Table recently
Students from Anna C. Scott Elementary School in Leonia donated hundreds of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to Table to Table recently
Students from Anna C. Scott Elementary School in Leonia donated hundreds of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to Table to Table recently
Students from Anna C. Scott Elementary School in Leonia donated hundreds of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to Table to Table recently
Students from Anna C. Scott Elementary School in Leonia donated hundreds of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to Table to Table recently
Students from Anna C. Scott Elementary School in Leonia donated hundreds of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to Table to Table recently
Students from Anna C. Scott Elementary School in Leonia donated hundreds of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to Table to Table recently
Students from Anna C. Scott Elementary School in Leonia donated hundreds of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to Table to Table recently
Students from Anna C. Scott Elementary School in Leonia donated hundreds of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to Table to Table recently
Students from Anna C. Scott Elementary School in Leonia donated hundreds of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to Table to Table recently
Students from Anna C. Scott Elementary School in Leonia donated hundreds of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to Table to Table recently
Students from Anna C. Scott Elementary School in Leonia donated hundreds of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to Table to Table recently
Students from Anna C. Scott Elementary School in Leonia donated hundreds of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to Table to Table recently
Table to Table's Volunteer Coordinator Stephanie Conley-Webb speaks to students at Anna C. Scott Elementary School in Leonia. Students from Anna C. Scott Elementary School in Leonia donated hundreds of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to Table to Table recently
Students from Anna C. Scott Elementary School in Leonia donated hundreds of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to Table to Table recently
Students from Anna C. Scott Elementary School in Leonia donated hundreds of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to Table to Table recently
Students from Anna C. Scott Elementary School in Leonia donated hundreds of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to Table to Table recently
Students from Anna C. Scott Elementary School in Leonia donated hundreds of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to Table to Table recently
Students from Anna C. Scott Elementary School in Leonia donated hundreds of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to Table to Table recently
Students from Anna C. Scott Elementary School in Leonia donated hundreds of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to Table to Table recently
Students from Anna C. Scott Elementary School in Leonia donated hundreds of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to Table to Table recently

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.

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 from entering the environment.

Related:

Hats off to our friends at Chatham Day School, who participated in a food audit led by our staff.

At lunchtime, students placed their food waste in the buckets to be weighed. At the end of each lunch period, students could see and better understand how food can easily be wasted. We had a great time and are grateful to the students, families, faculty and administrators for supporting our mission to reduce food waste and feed neighbors in need. Go Chatham Day School! 

Schools like yours can join us in our mission to reduce food waste and relieve hunger in New Jersey! We offer several school-focused programs, including:

Click here for more information about our school-based initiatives.

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 from entering the environment.

Related:

Editor’s note: This op-ed was co-authored by Heather Thompson, Table to Table executive director, Helen Lanctuit, CEO of Share My Meals and co-chair of the Meal Recovery Coalition, and Allie Wilson, director of Northeast operations, FoodRecovery.org. It first appeared on binje.com.

Every day in New Jersey, thousands of pounds of perfectly good food are thrown away—not just scraps, but perfectly edible items and full, untouched meals. At the same time, nearly 1 million residents struggle with food insecurity.

This isn’t just a moral failure — it’s a policy gap. And it’s one we have the power to close.

Recently, The Meal Recovery Coalition had the opportunity to testify before the New Jersey Assembly’s Environment, Natural Resources, and Solid Waste Committee, sharing what we know to be true: New Jersey has the potential to lead the nation in tackling food waste and hunger—not just through community programs, but through bold, bipartisan legislation.

We’ve built a coalition of corporate partners, food service providers, hospitals, universities, and community organizations to recover healthy, prepared meals and deliver them to those who need them most. Without intervention, this nourishing food—sourced from distributors and supermarkets, cafeterias, commercial kitchens, and catering services — will never reach a plate. Instead, they’re headed straight to a landfill.

With the support of state leaders, we can change that. Right now, several bills moving through the legislature would dramatically improve New Jersey’s food recovery infrastructure:

These are smart, cost-effective steps. Research shows that every $1 invested in meal recovery yields $14 in public benefit—from avoided greenhouse gas emissions to reduced landfill use and improved public health. This is climate policy, health policy, and hunger policy in one.

We’ve seen what’s possible: our organizations alone have already recovered and redistributed enough food for millions of meals. But we’re just scratching the surface. With the right policies and partnerships in place, we could recover tens of millions more.

New Jersey can’t afford to waste another meal. We have the partners. We have the model. Now we need the momentum. Let’s make food recovery the norm across our state.

To learn more about how you, your organization, or your business can support or participate in food recovery — from donating surplus meals to partnering with local nonprofits — click here.

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 from entering the environment.

Related:

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Photo Gallery

The Behind The Seams Fashion Show Benefitting Table to Table was Held at Bottagra Restaurant

Editor’s note: BC The Mag covered the Behind The Seams Fashion Show at Bottagra Wednesday. For more photos from the event, visit BC The Mag’s website.

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:

Pantry Announces Partnership with Table to Table to Expand Food Access and Reduce Food Local Waste

Editor’s note: This excerpt about Table to Table’s new partnership with the Montville Kiwanis Food Pantry originally appeared on Montville Patch. Click here to read the entire story.

The Montville Kiwanis Food Pantry celebrates 15 years of dedicated community service today, April 25th. Marking this significant milestone, the pantry proudly announces a new partnership with Table to Table, Northern New Jersey’s pioneering food rescue organization. This collaboration, launched yesterday will enhance the pantry’s ability to combat food insecurity by providing weekly deliveries of rescued food, starting with breakfast items and baked goods from local Wawa stores.

This partnership represents a major step in the pantry’s ongoing mission to meet the increasing needs of the community through sustainable and cost-effective solutions. As demand for food assistance grows, this initiative will allow the pantry to expand its offerings without increasing operational costs. In March 2025 alone, the pantry supported 413 individuals across 133 visits, including welcoming 7 newly registered households, underscoring the urgency for innovative food sourcing.

“Heading into our 15th year of service, it’s more important than ever that we deepen our impact,” said Danielle Mangione-Vasser, Co-Director of the Montville Kiwanis Food Pantry. “This partnership with Table to Table allows us to expand food access, reduce waste, and better support the hundreds of individuals who count on us—without increasing our operating costs.”

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:

Editor’s note: This excerpt about Table to Table’s second Partners in Good Health Conference appeared on ROI-NJ’s website May 12. Click here for the complete story.

Table to Table, New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue organization, successfully concluded its second annual Partners in Good Health Conference co-sponsored by Montclair State University’s Social Work and Child Advocacy, College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The conference is designed to connect, inform and empower the nonprofit’s partner pantries, social service agencies, shelters and other community partners who distribute the food delivered by Table to Table to communities in need throughout Bergen, Essex, Passaic, Hudson and Morris counties.

The daylong event, which took place on the university’s campus, featured subject matter experts in the areas of nutrition, emotional resilience and “micro-habit” changes for better health. The afternoon capped off with a town hall discussion led by New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate (OFSA) team members Mark Dinglasan, Dan Dychtwald, Ph.D., MPH, MS and Jemmell’z Washington-Rock, as well New Jersey Assemblywoman Shama D. Haider, who serves as chairwoman for the Assembly Committee on Children, Families, and Food Security.

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:

Editor’s note: This excerpt about Veer Agarwal and his food rescue club ResQFood, originally appeared on News 12 NJ’s Jersey Proud segment. Click here for their story.

News 12 New Jersey highlighted Veer Agarwal on their Jersey Proud segment Thursday. Agarwal is the founder of ResQFood, a food rescue club at Livingston High School, and a Table to Table Food Rescue Hero. We’ve helped Veer and his team of 30 volunteers perform more than 200 rescues of nutritious food in and around Livingston by coordinating the pick-ups and drop-offs.

“I am a proud volunteer of Table to Table because of what this organization and cause stands for. Every person in New Jersey should have secure access to healthy meals, but the reality is that 1 million people are food insecure and 3 billion pounds of food gets thrown out annually,” Agarwal previously said. “When picking up surplus food from restaurants and donating to local food pantries, I feel satisfied knowing that some family out there is benefitting from my efforts,”

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:

Editor’s note: This excerpt about Behind The Seams 2025 was taken from the original article that appeared in Total Food Service Magazine’s May 2025 issue. Click here to read the entire article.

In Northern New Jersey, something remarkable has taken root—an ever-growing movement of restaurants, retailers, and community members joining forces to tackle one of society’s most pressing issues: hunger. At the heart of this effort is the connection between the community and solving the issue. It begins with individuals and businesses stepping forward to create a solution. In this case, a business and its visionary leadership: Ralph Lauretta of Sal Lauretta for Men has done exactly that. With his friend, Joey Mazza, the Behind the Seams Fashion Show was born.

The collaboration is set to return for its 15th year on Wednesday, May 14, at the elegant Bottagra Restaurant in Hawthorne. For the first time, Lauretta and Mazza have teamed with Table to Table, New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue nonprofit. This high-energy evening, blending gourmet food, fashion, and philanthropy, is more than just a celebration—it’s a powerful demonstration of what’s possible when people rally for a cause greater than themselves. What started as an idea between friends over fashion and charity has grown into a full-scale, high-impact collaboration transforming he way businesses give back. From year one, the event has supported community-focused nonprofits.

“I’ve always believed our store should be a platform for change,” Lauretta detailed. “With Table to Table, it’s local, it’s tangible, and you see the impact in your own backyard.”

To purchase tickets to Behind The Seams 2025, click here.

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:

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