Community FoodBank of New Jersey Expands Its Fleet

Today, at Elijah’s Promise in New Brunswick, Johnson & Johnson executives, Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ) representatives, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, State Senator Bob Smith, Deputy Chief of Staff for Economic Growth Eric Brophy, and Assemblyman Joe Danielsen gathered to hold a launch ceremony for CFBNJ’s brand new truck, which was funded through a generous gift from Johnson & Johnson. After the ceremony, attendees volunteered at Elijah’s Promise, assembling meals for soup kitchen guests.

The new 26-foot box truck is a contribution to CFBNJ’s fleet expansion campaign, an effort to grow the organization’s arsenal of trucks, trailers, mobile pantries, and vans from 24 vehicles to 32. The fleet expansion campaign is a four-year public-private partnership made possible with leadership support from The Tepper Foundation, Feeding America, Conagra, the State of New Jersey, and private donors like Johnson & Johnson. CFBNJ is moving towards a partner direct transportation model with a goal of delivering all food to local food assistance organizations across the state, instead of having many of them pick up from the FoodBank’s facilities. Last year alone, CFBNJ trucks drove 390,000 miles to pick up and deliver food – enough to circle the earth nearly 16 times.

“As we add to our fleet, we can increase efficiency and improve our mission delivery,” said Elizabeth McCarthy, President & CEO of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey. “We are extremely grateful to Johnson & Johnson for stepping up to meet this essential need and for their support as a steadfast corporate partner all year round.”

“Johnson & Johnson is proud to support the Community FoodBank of New Jersey’s efforts to tackle food insecurity, not just in New Brunswick, but ensuring residents across our home state have access to healthy foods and fresh produce,” said Adam Taliaferro, J&J’s director of state and community engagement. “J&J’s commitment to solving the toughest health challenges and improving health outcomes starts by addressing food insecurity in our own communities.”

Johnson & Johnson has supported efforts to address food insecurity in New Jersey for nearly 30 years. In just the last decade alone, the New Brunswick-based company’s partnership with Elijah’s Promise has fostered positive change throughout the city and surrounding community, dedicating thousands of volunteer hours among J&J employees, serving more than a million meals, processing tens of thousands of pounds of local produce, and educating hundreds on nutrition and healthy living. J&J employees have also been involved in various volunteer opportunities with the CFBNJ.

Last year alone, CFBNJ provided food for more than 90 million nutritious meals through more than 800 partner food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, child and senior feeding programs, and more. Elijah’s Promise, where today’s ribbon cutting was held, is one of the organization’s community partners. Elijah’s Promise operates a soup kitchen, a culinary arts school, and a mobile food truck and connects those in need with social and health services. Over the last year alone, the organization, which was founded in 1989, served more than 375,000 free meals to low-income and unhoused individuals and families.

The new truck will help CFBNJ bring food to Elijah’s Promise and other partner organizations.

“We are delighted to host two of our closest partners, Johnson & Johnson and the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, who are essential to helping Elijah’s Promise serve over 375,000 free meals a year,” said Michelle Wilson, Executive Director of Elijah’s Promise.

“Community partnerships play a critical role in our ability to combat food insecurity and broaden access to nutritious meals for all New Jerseyans,”said Governor Phil Murphy. “I am thrilled to see the Community FoodBank of New Jersey’s fleet expand, enabling them to reach more of our community members where they are and helping to put fresh, healthy food on the kitchen tables of those in need. Thanks to Johnson & Johnson’s generosity, this truck will have a significant impact in addressing food insecurity.”

“The fight against food insecurity and hunger requires strong coordination between the public and private sectors and we have no better partner than Johnson & Johnson,” said Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin. “We are building stronger systems to combat food insecurity and hunger in our state. This donation will help increase capacity and improve efficiency to reach more of our neighbors in need.”