Food Bank, Library Partner Up To Feed Body And Mind In Bound Brook

BOUND BROOK, NJ — Feeding both the body and brain is important, and Somerset County's library system and food bank network have teamed up to provide mental and physical nourishment in Bound Brook.

The county library system is partnering with the Food Bank Network of Somerset County to offer library services at the food pantry, according to a news release. Loans, reference services, ESL and technology classes, library cards, and much more are available.

So far, the Bound Brook branch has issued almost 75 new library cards, and has served 150 people in both English and Spanish, while outside the main pantry and warehouse on Easy Street.

The library is there once a week from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

"The Food Bank Network of Somerset County is thrilled to have partnered with the Bound Brook branch to bring mobile library services to our clients," said Steve Katz, executive director of the Food Bank Network of Somerset County. "These services are not something that our average client would otherwise be aware of or able to access. This is a great example of community organizations in Somerset County working together to bring a holistic solution to our neighbors in need."

"We at SCLSNJ know that access to library and information resources, services, and various technologies is essential to all people, especially the economically disadvantaged," said Cathy DeBerry, branch manager. "By visiting the food bank on a weekly basis, not only are we reaching people who never use the library and/or have never had a library card, we are also developing relationships with these same people who have come to learn that the Library System is a trusted institution available to them at all times."