'Hunger In New Jersey': Report Sees Hope Amid Food Insecurity

NEW JERSEY—The state may often rank highly in national surveys of health and wealth.

But New Jersey is also a state in which nearly 800,000 people, 200,000 of them children, face hunger every day, according to food bank statistics.

And since the COVID pandemic threw the economy into turmoil, hunger is an even more persistent challenge for government, for food banks and for those living under the cloud of food insecurity.

An in-depth analysis of the problem appears in a new report "Hunger and Its Solutions in New Jersey." The report was released last month by the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) in Washington, D.C., with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, here.

More than 285,000 households in New Jersey did not have reliable access to affordable, nutritious food at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the report. That is 1 in 12 households in the state, researchers say.

But the report offers pathways to solving the problem.

It urges breaking down so-called "silos" of government and nonprofit agencies that could work together to address hunger more effectively among all demographics in the state.

And at the state level, legislation both already in place or pending is confronting the problem.

For example, an Office of Food Security has been established to coordinate hunger programs in the state. The advocate to head the office still needs to be named, however.

And other legislation has tasked the Economic Development Authority to identify "food deserts" in the state, which the EDA has done in a list out this year of 50 New Jersey cities it considers food deserts, the most underserved being Camden. And it may be a first step in greening those deserts with stores and programs offering healthy food in everyone's neighborhood.

'Disproportionate burden' based on race, geography

The racial inequities associated with hunger are detailed in the report.

"An analysis of the Census Household Pulse Survey shows that, in 2021, 14 percent of Black households and 18 percent of Latino households in New Jersey indicated that they sometimes or often did not have enough to eat, compared to 5 percent of white households," according to the report.

The report noted "stark disparities in food insecurity that exist within the state, which must be addressed to create an equitable opportunity for good health for all.

"The pandemic has exacerbated longstanding inequities in New Jersey. Community disinvestment and systems of oppression have resulted in disproportionate burdens of food insecurity along geographic lines and by race and ethnicity, with Black and Latino households particularly hit hard," the report states.

Advocates on the front lines see the toll food insecurity takes.

Food is obviously basic to survival, Triada Stampas, president and CEO of Fulfill, observed. Fulfill is, among other activities, a food bank serving 300 distribution sites in Monmouth and Ocean counties.

"We ought to take that with a lot of gravity. The work we are doing is not trivial to the people who need it for their survival," she said.

When someone doesn't have a secure source of food, it is "hard to focus on more distant horizons," she said.

"Food insecurity impacts education, workforce participation and health," she added.

Flexibility is key

Stampas was one of more than 150 New Jersey food security advocates to whose input was garnered for the report.

FRAC has existed for more than 40 years and offers "phenomenal expertise" for research, policy and advocacy in ending hunger, she said.

Fulfill along with the Community FoodBank of New Jersey (in Hillside and Egg Harbor Township) and the Food Bank of South Jersey (in Pennsauken) are the major food banks that cover large swaths of the state, Stampas said. There are hundreds of food pantries, soup kitchens and other programs that are supplied through these major food banks, she added.

Table to Table, serving Northeastern New Jersey, has been providing hunger relief since 1999 as the state's first "food rescue" program, rescuing enough fresh food for more than 295 million meals, the organization, based in Hasbrouck Heights, says.

"Fresh produce, meats and dairy that would otherwise be wasted (are able) to be utilized by diverse community organizations providing food to people who are in need,” said Ilene Isaacs, executive director.

She said Table to Table’s "flexible model allows for the rescue and redistribution of large scale donations best suited for neighborhood fresh produce markets and large distribution sites and, through the I-Rescue app, smaller donations to reach into communities requiring assistance on a smaller scale."

And during COVID, flexibility was key, the report said.

"Hunger and Its Solutions in New Jersey" highlights how diverse community organizations "pivoted to diligently address hunger during the pandemic, providing food and connections to services and support; and state agencies fully maximized federal waivers, shifting services and expanding benefits to help mitigate food insecurity."

It noted that the flexibility the waivers offered were "vital to ensure programs could continue to provide benefits and serve meals to New Jersey households while keeping families and providers safe through social distancing."

“Leadership and staff at these organizations and State and local agencies worked tirelessly throughout COVID-19 to help New Jerseyans,” said Luis Guardia, president of FRAC.
“Despite these heroic efforts, more must be done to meet unacceptable levels of poverty and hunger across the state.”

Inflation hits food banks, as well as clients

And flexibility is a necessity in the face of inflation, Stampas noted.

Fulfill's food costs have increased an average of 33 percent. As shoppers have observed, the most nutritional foods, such as protein, dairy and eggs, have had the highest increases.

While non-perishable foods may come to mind when one thinks of food pantries, Stampas said fresh foods are the most nutrient dense and providing them is a priority for food banks. And then there is the price of gas that also is hitting food banks' budgets as they deliver food to their distribution centers. All food banks in the state are dealing with these issues, she added.

Stampas offered an example of one client coping with the rough currents of COVID, inflation, and food insecurity.

The woman, who lives in Red Bank in Monmouth County, lost her husband to COVID and has three children under 18 to raise. As a housecleaner she earned $500 a week, but her rent was $1,700. "She was visiting a pantry every week," Stampas said.

Fulfill has a resources connection team that can advise clients on food programs such as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and WIC (Women, Infants and Children). But it also can help clients navigate federal and state health insurance and rental assistance.

The team in the case of the Red Bank woman, helped connect her to get $400 in SNAP aid and also connected her with rental assistance for a number of months, Stampas said.

Recommendations in the report

The FRAC report details specific recommendations that will enable state and local governments, schools, child care providers, community-based and faith-based organizations, emergency food providers, and others, to help mitigate hunger by:

• Expanding outreach to community members about food resources and federal nutrition programs available.
• Enhancing coordination between food system stakeholders, like residents, state agencies, nutrition program operators, and farmers.
• Investing in and/or developing food-focused enterprises. This includes fostering local small food businesses’ startup and sustainability in underserved communities.
• Building infrastructure and capacity needed to make the most of existing and emerging policy and program opportunities. This includes leveraging American Rescue Plan Act funding and new funding streams to invest in technology systems to streamline access to food and federal nutrition programs.

Stampas said the biggest insight she gleaned from the report is how "siloed" various food assistance agencies and programs are.

"There is a disconnect between the service providers and what people need. We need to break down the silos and center our perspective from the folks who need our services. We need to collectively re-orient ourselves around our customers' experience to be effective."

She said agencies need to "make sure messaging is reaching people where they are. It sounds obvious but that often gets missed."

Working groups will be formed

And the next phase of the process brings the work back to New Jersey.

The report will serve as the foundation for the planning and piloting of a food insecurity initiative and investments sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

“Over the years, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has invested in New Jersey healthy food-related developments, and this report provides us a more nuanced understanding of the complex web of food system challenges and opportunities for improvement,” said RWJF Senior Program Officer Marco Navarro.

Stampas noted that foundation is convening working groups to determine the best ways to implement changes. Advocates around the state will be participating in these groups.

"The report is not going to just sit on someone's shelf," Stampas said. It's now about "taking the next steps" and converting the recommendations in the report into action.

"We need to identify who can help get us out of our silos. Who might be a good partner in the work we have not connected with before. Working groups will bring new perspectives and new folks to the table who might bring new resources," she said.

Legislation to expand food security

A package of bills to expand food security measures has already passed the Assembly on May 26 and is pending a hearing in the state Senate.

New Jersey General Assembly Speaker Craig J. Coughlin (D-Middlesex), representing the 19th legislative district, is a sponsor of the legislation and weighed in on its benefits:

"The latest bill package targets . . . some of the challenges that keep people from participating in these programs like a lack of awareness, struggle applying, and limited eligibility criteria." he said in a press statement.

"Benefit programs like SNAP and school meals bridge the gap between community organizations on the front lines (like our food pantries and food banks) and critical state-run safety net programs that help people pay for groceries."

On another front, the problem of food deserts in the state's major cities, such as Camden, Atlantic City and Newark, is being addressed through the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

The Food Desert Relief Act is part of the Economic Recovery Act signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy in January 2021.

The act directs the EDA to address the food security needs of communities across New Jersey by providing up to $40 million per year for six years in tax credits, loans, grants, and/or technical assistance to increase access to nutritious foods and develop new approaches to alleviate food deserts. The EDA has now developed a list of 50 Food Desert Communities.

“By approving the designation of New Jersey’s Food Desert Communities, we are a crucial step closer to directly addressing the impact of food deserts and to securing access to fresh and nutritious foods, with real brick and mortar food retailers and neighborhood food service programs, so everyone feels the comfort of knowing where their next meal will come from,” Coughlin said.