Food In and Food Out
It’s usually when I’m leading a tour. As I’m walking down the aisle, along the rows and rows of food on the shelves of the Food Bank of South Jersey, there is always a fact I mention that jumps out at me – we turn everything over in this warehouse every 30 days, and, during busy times, more often than that.
That’s a lot of food delivered throughout South Jersey. In 2022, we sent nearly 18.5 million pounds of food out the door – another number that I’m often amazed at.
We’ve had to find food in so many ways. We couldn’t do what we do without supporters who are collecting food donations at drives large and small – where every can makes a difference for a family in need. Or all the donors whose financial support helps us leverage our buying power to provide three meals for every dollar we raise.
Those resources help our dedicated food sourcing team find what’s needed to feed South Jersey. And since our serve numbers have increased in recent months to more than 120,000 individuals, the team is constantly looking for innovative new ways to fill the shelves of our warehouse.
But when I think of finding food – it’s not a stat or a fact that really sticks with me. It’s the parent, grandparent, or guardian trying to find food for their family. Like Rowshon, who we recently met, who is raising her grandkids and had searched every way she could to find food for them so they wouldn’t go hungry.
I’m thankful Rowshon found one of our 200 pantries that serve our neighbors in need every month. While she learned about our agency from her grandchildren’s school, many others find food by using the zip code locator on our website, including those who are assisted by our mobile distributions because a pantry might not be nearby.
Finding food. Moving food. We are committed to always having enough food for South Jersey. And working hard to make sure that none of our neighbors go to bed hungry.
– Fred C. Wasiak
