Community FoodBank of New Jersey Receives $200,000 Grant from Stop & Shop Family Foundation to Support College Campus Pantry Program

New Jersey Non-Profit Teams Up with Supermarket Chain to Fight College Hunger

Hillside, NJ (February 21, 2020) – Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ), the state’s largest anti-hunger organization, is proud to announce it has been selected as the recipient of a grant from the Stop & Shop Family Foundation to support its College Campus Pantry Program. The grant, which will be used to continue to supply new and existing pantries throughout the state with increased access to non-perishable food and fresh produce, will continue to allow New Jersey’s college students to focus on their studies, rather than where their next meal may be coming from.

The FoodBank currently provides food for 14 college pantries in 8 counties, serving an average of 100 students per pantry, per month. As a result of receiving the grant from Stop & Shop, CFBNJ will now be able to introduce five additional pantries across the state to its roster, and anticipates serving a total of approximately 1,800 students per month.

“Addressing college campus hunger has always been a significant goal of ours,” said Carlos Rodriguez, President & CEO of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey. “Receiving this generous grant from the Stop & Shop Family Foundation will help us work to eliminate hunger amongst the 140,000 food-insecure college students across the state of New Jersey, which means so much to us as an organization. We look forward to using the funds to expand our campus pantry program into new schools, and reaching new students statewide.”

“Nourishment is an essential part of student success,” said Stefanie Shuman, External Communications Manager for Stop & Shop. “Stop & Shop is proud to support the FoodBank in their efforts to end hunger across college campuses.”

With tight budgets and busy schedules, college students are particularly vulnerable to hunger, which can hinder their abilities to excel in the classroom and put them at greater risk of dropping out. In New Jersey, more than 1 in 3 college students don’t have enough to eat. Additionally, a newly released survey from Temple University shows that nearly 40% of students at New Jersey’s community colleges face hunger, with only one in six food insecure receiving help in the form of SNAP (formerly known as food stamps). CFBNJ distributes food to more than a dozen campus pantries throughout the state, and works with government representatives to help enact long-term solutions to college hunger in New Jersey. Since 2014, the FoodBank has distributed about 93,000 pounds of food through its college pantries.

2020 marks a special anniversary for CFBNJ, which is currently celebrating 45 years of fighting hunger. Since 1975, CFBNJ has been dedicated to delivering food, help and hope to the state’s neighbors in need, growing from a one-woman operation to an organization with over 1,000 community partners, providing more than 50 million nutritious meals annually. In recognition of its 45 years of service, CFBNJ has introduced a new logo, specifically designed to highlight the ways CFBNJ works to fight hunger in New Jersey, providing food for today and helping to address the root causes of food insecurity with a focus on wellness, ultimately filling hungry neighbors’ hearts with hope.

For more information on the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, please visit cfbnj.org, and keep up with CFBNJ on Facebook @communityfoodbankofnj and Instagram @cfbnj.

About Community FoodBank of New Jersey

The Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ), a member of Feeding America®, has been delivering food, help and hope across the state for 45 years. Last year, CFBNJ provided nutritious food for over 50 million meals through its network of more than 1,000 community partners including pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, mobile pantries, and child and senior feeding programs. For our hungry neighbors, the Community FoodBank of New Jersey is the powerful agent of change that fills the emptiness caused by hunger and provides resources that are essential to earning a sustainable living.

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