36 Years standing strong in South Jersey
Our story begins
The Food Bank of South Jersey’s humble beginnings in Camden, New Jersey is a reinforcement of what happens when ordinary citizens, driven by compassion and conviction, accomplish extraordinary feats. Founded in 1985 by 13 individuals with the belief that no one should go hungry, the Food Bank of South Jersey’s mission was birthed.
This simple grassroots vision from one South Jersey city has stood the test of time to become a trusted beacon of hope feeding hundreds of thousands of food-insecure residents and renewing their faith in the kindness of humanity.
An unprecedented year…
In response to the pandemic, the Food Bank of South Jersey distributed over one million children’s meals during 2020 – up more than 700,000 children’s meals distributed during 2019 – and greatly accelerated child feeding services to combat the rise in youth hunger.
At a time when child food insecurity is at a crisis peak in South Jersey, the Food Bank of South Jersey and its partners, supporters and friends worked to bring healthy food, nutrition education and hope to the little ones who will one day lead South Jersey.
Today we stand strong.
The spirit of volunteerism built the Food Bank of South Jersey and today, more than ever, it is that same spirit that drives our hunger-relief mission forward to end hunger in our communities. Our volunteers stand with us in fields, parking lots and open spaces – rain or shine – serving with us to serve South Jersey.
Along with our volunteers, our dedicated partners, staff and supporters have helped deliver 18.7 million meals to over 58 communities across Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Salem counties. Our health and wellness team provided 409 nutrition education programs. So far this year, Mobile Café and child feeding programming oversaw the deployment of more than 300,000 meals throughout South Jersey, with 72 trips directly impacting the orchestration and distribution of food for the region’s most food-vulnerable youths. From Browns Mills in Burlington County to the City of Salem in Salem County, Subaru championed the child feeding mission of the Food Bank of South Jersey.
A look ahead…
We are committed to our strategic initiatives including expanding procurement of food, developing resources to align with the growth of hunger-relief programs, becoming an official NJ SNAP Outreach vendor to educate, facilitate and connect eligible recipients with SNAP benefits and doing all we can to ensure no child lives in a home devoid of food.
Together, we can feed our future. We are grateful for the support of this new legislation, and we are grateful for the support of all who keep in mind the hunger in our community, particularly the hunger that impacts our children.
Your support makes a difference
Celebrate 36 years of feeding South Jersey with a monthly gift.
When you join our Hero for Hope monthly donor program, you will be providing funding that we can count on, and for those who can count on us.