Cold Weather Brings Record Crowds to Local Food Pantries

Cold temperatures launched soup season and just in time: with the arrival of frigid weather, hundreds of people in need came to warm up with a bowl of hot soup, a meal and/or take-away packages filled with food to take home. In Montclair, both non-profits Human Needs Food Pantry and Toni’s Kitchen happily received over 1,000 soups in total from iconic Original Soupman, who you may know from Seinfeld fame. The company strives to create a memorable experience in every spoonful of soup. From their secret spice blend to whole food ingredients, every bowl of Soupman soup provides easy, flavor-packed comfort in as much time as it takes to pour, heat and serve.

According to Feeding America’s Map of the Meal Gap, in 2016:

· One in 10 New Jersey residents were food insecure, meaning they did not have an adequate, consistent supply of food. That translates to more than 919,000 hungry people.

· It’s even worse for children — 13.5 percent of New Jersey children suffered from hunger, translating to more than 268,000 children.

· About one-third of these residents earned too much to qualify for nutrition assistance.

To make donations to Human Needs Food Pantry visit http://www.humanneedsfoodpantry.org/

To make donations to Toni’s Kitchen visit http://tk.slechurch.org/

CAPTION: From left to right: left photo – Joey Hagan of Original Soupman with Executive Director of Human Needs Food Pantry Michael Bruno. Right photo: Father John Mennell of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Joey Hagan of Original Soupman and Executive Director of Toni’s Kitchen Ann Mernin.