Emergency COVID Food Distribution At James Caldwell High School

WEST CALDWELL, NJ — An emergency food distribution event will take place at James Caldwell High School in West Caldwell on Thursday, June 25 to help people impacted by the coronavirus.

According to a news release from Essex County officials, 1,000 boxes of food will be distributed at 10 a.m. at the high school, which is located at 265 Westville Avenue in West Caldwell.

Here’s how it will work, officials said:

“Residents who want to take advantage of this free giveaway should enter the school campus by turning right from Lane Avenue onto Woodmere Road. Left turns from Lane Avenue onto Woodmere Road will not be allowed. Residents waiting to enter the site should line up along Lane Avenue before turning right onto Woodmere Road. Vehicles should approach from Bloomfield Avenue. In addition, residents are asked to not arrive to the site until 8 a.m. Vehicles that arrive before 8 a.m. will be asked to leave. This is being done to allow for normal traffic flow through the area and prevent any traffic back-ups from being created.”

County officials continued:

“The emergency food boxes will be distributed on a first come, first served basis. When residents arrive at the site, they are being asked to keep their windows rolled up and to open their trunk. Volunteers will place one emergency food box into each vehicle … This event will only provide boxes to cars. Buses will not be allowed to enter. In addition, people walking to the site cannot be assisted.”

According to officials, the emergency food boxes contain enough food to provide about 40 meals. They consist of a variety of non-perishable food such as oatmeal, rice, fruit, peanut butter, jelly, shelf stable milk and canned vegetables, chili, soup and ravioli. Items may vary based upon their availability.

“The coronavirus has forced an enormous amount of people out of work and created food insecurity among residents who now have limited income or no income at all,” Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. said.

“We hope this emergency food distribution helps those families who are struggling,” DiVincenzo said, adding that additional emergency food distribution events will be scheduled “on a weekly basis.”

One such event, which took place in Branch Brook Park in April, was a “great success,” Essex County Freeholder Vice President Wayne Richardson said.

“We were able to hand out over 2,000 boxes of food to residents in need,” Richardson said. “Our goal is to duplicate that success in different towns across Essex County, and give all of our residents a chance to receive food in a location that is in close proximity to their community.”

“The coronavirus pandemic has negatively affected our communities in a multitude of ways,” Freeholder President Brendan Gill said. “Unfortunately, over the last few months, the number of Essex County residents requiring assistance to provide food for their families has increased. To that end, I am happy to join the county administration in announcing that more food distribution events will be coming to different municipalities across the county.”

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

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