Patch Holiday Food Drive In Hudson County: Help Feeding America

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger relief organization, predicted this would happen as millions of Americans lost their jobs, their paychecks, and even their businesses because of the coronavirus pandemic: Hunger is an urgent problem for about 108,255 people in Hudson County.

You can help. Patch and Feeding America teamed last summer to address the growing hunger crisis in America, connecting readers with the organization’s 200 member food banks that serve 60,000 food pantries and meal programs, and providing an easy way to donate money to help their neighbors.

Now through Dec. 31, we’re encouraging readers to make a tax-deductible contribution to Feeding America in the Patch Holiday Food Drive. Every $1 given to the organization buys 10 meals.

Some food pantries and other services available in Hudson County are listed here and see below, or inquire at your local town hall or place of religious worship.

• HOBOKEN SHELTER 300 Bloomfield St Hoboken, NJ (201) 656-5069 Get Directions Call
• HOBOKEN COMMUNITY CENTER (at YMCA) 1301 Washington St. Hoboken, NJ (228) 238-1124 Get Directions Call
• FRANCISKA RESIDENCE 615 Grove St Jersey City, NJ 862-400-7624 Get Directions Call
• J.C. HOMELESS/ST. LUCY'S SHELTER 619 Grove St Jersey City, NJ (201) 656-7201 Get Directions Call
• THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF NJ Food Pantry 600 Palisades Avenue Union City, NJ (201) 667-2265 Get Directions Call
• BRIAN P. STACK CIVIC ASSOC. Food Pantry 811 West Street Union City, NJ (201) 376-0804 Get Directions Call
• SECAUCUS FOOD PANTRY Food Pantry 79 Metro Way Secaucus, NJ (201) 330-2014 Get Directions Call
• GOSPEL TABERNACLE Food Pantry 5029 Kennedy Blvd. North Bergen, NJ 201-916-9415 Get Directions Call

Feeding America predicted last summer that 50 million people, including 17 million children, could face hunger by year’s end because of the pandemic. Feeding America projects the food insecurity rate in Hudson County will rise to 16.1 percent in 2020 (a total of 108,255 people), up from 10.9 percent in 2018.

The Hoboken Homeless Shelter, which serves 500 meals daily to those who need them, said that they'd like to help more people, and have had people donate food from local restaurants, which keeps small businesses running as well. "For this holiday season, I'd love to again get food donated to the shelter and get local restaurants' business," said a representative in a story about the shelter recently.

Feeding America says that 80 percent of its food banks — or 4 in 5 — are serving more people than they were at the same time last year. With the pandemic worsening during the holiday season, many people who never before worried about how they’d pay for a holiday meal are turning to food banks for the first time.

From the beginning of the pandemic in March, Feeding America distributed 4.2 billion meals — enough to provide every U.S. resident with breakfast, lunch and dinner for just over four days.

In the first four months of the pandemic, 4 in 10 people were first-time visitors to food banks, according to Feeding America.

How To Support The Patch Holiday Food Drive

Patch has teamed with Feeding America to help raise awareness on behalf of the millions of Americans facing hunger. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that in 2020, more than 50 million Americans will not have enough nutritious food to eat due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.

Got news? Email caren.lissner@patch.com. To be the first to get news alerts with breaking stories in your town, or to get a free local newsletter each morning, sign up for Patch breaking news alerts or daily newsletters.