County To Distribute Food To Those In Need In Gloucester Township

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — Camden County will fight food insecurity as cases continue to increase amid the coronavirus pandemic on Friday.

The county freeholder board will partner with Touch New Jersey Food Alliance, to deliver and distribute more than 1,200 boxes of food for families in need in Gloucester Township.

Volunteers and staff will be loading boxes of food for those in need at Camden County College, 200 College Drive in the Blackwood section of the township, at 11 a.m. Friday, Camden County officials announced.

The Camden County Public Education Team will also be on site, distributing critical public health information, and volunteers will be helping residents complete their 2020 Census on site.

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Food distribution is open to anyone who is facing food insecurity. Recipients who walk up to the site will be limited to two boxes, while drive up recipients will be limited to four. Each box of food comes stocked with approximately 24 pounds of supplies.

“We are continuing to work with our residents and respond to increased risk of hunger in our community caused by COVID-19,” Camden County Freeholder Jonathan Young said. “We are partnering with Touch NJ through the end of August to make sure that no one goes hungry because of lost income, employment, or any other factor caused or exacerbated by the coronavirus.”

The site expects to be able to serve several hundred families. Food will be distributed as supplies last on a first come, first served basis.

The distribution comes as 38 additional cases of the coronavirus were announced in Camden County on Thursday, brings the aggregate number of confirmed positive cases to 8,819 in Camden County today and 538 confirmed deaths. Trace investigations are ongoing in all cases.

“We can’t afford to ignore the trends that we’re seeing: our average number of new cases per day is back to where it was at the beginning of June and trending upwards,” Camden County Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said. “This virus is still extremely active in our community, and we have to take this threat seriously. No one should be attending large gatherings. Everyone needs to wear a mask when they are in public and maintain social distancing. We are not impervious to this virus because we were hit hard in the beginning and recovered. If we don’t become more stringent in following these public health guidelines, then more people will get sick, we will lose more lives, and our state’s economy will suffer another devastating blow.”

According to the Camden County Department of Health, there are 1,342 confirmed cases among residents at the county's long-term care facilities, with 311 deaths. Another 510 cases were reported among staff members, with three deaths.

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