Speaker Craig Coughlin Upholds Commitment to Fight Hunger in New Jersey

(TRENTON) – New Jersey State Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin will partner with various organizations, legislators, and elected officials throughout the state during the month of January to promote food security and the fight to end hunger.

“Every resident of our state should, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to safe and nutritious food,” said Speaker Craig Coughlin. “Each partnership represents the Assembly’s commitment to continue the fight to end hunger and I am proud to work with each organization to promote health and wellness.”

Speaker Coughlin will participate in the following scheduled events:

January 9, 2019 (5:30pm) – Flemington Area Food Pantry (154 Route 31, North Flemington, NJ 08822) tour and volunteering with Assembly Members Freiman and Zwicker

January 14, 2019 (1:00pm) – Fulfill Distribution Center (3300 Route 66, Neptune, NJ 07753) tour and volunteering with Assembly Members Downey and Houghtaling

January 15, 2019 (7:00pm) – Scotch Plains Council meeting (430 Park Avenue, Scotch Plains, NJ 07076) with Mayor Al Smith, Assembly Members Linda Carter and James Kennedy and the Town Council

January 28, 2019 (11:00am) – Mill Creek Urban Farm (61-75 Mill Road, Bridgeton, NJ 08302) tour with Mayor Albert Kelly and members of the Assembly

Speaker Coughlin will tour each facility and participate in sorting donations, distributing groceries to clients and assisting in various operational functions.

“I’m pleased to see Speaker Coughlin and our state legislators taking action to promote healthy food choices and address food waste,” said Mayor Al Smith. “Working together on a bipartisan basis, we can find solutions for communities that do not have easy access to nutritious food and need our support. I am honored that Speaker Coughlin will make Scotch Plains a stop on his anti-hunger tour.”

“Living in the garden spot of the Garden State, we are both aware of the bounty available, and at times, the disconnect in getting that bounty to those most in need. Our Mill Creek Urban Farm has been one way we are seeking to address that disconnect,” said Albert B. Kelly, CCAP, founder and president and CEO of Gateway. “Our mission statement is not just words, but our mission is our passion. It is so inspiring when others join us, as Assembly Speaker Coughlin is doing, to see first-hand what we are doing, how we are trying to make a difference and the many ways we are impacting lives in our community. We are proud of our Mill Creek Urban Farm because it has transformed fallow ground into a community touchstone, a connection to the bounty of our garden spot.”

Speaker Coughlin has made fighting hunger and promoting healthy eating in New Jersey a priority, and he recently led the effort to pass 13 bills in the State Assembly to improve people’s access to healthy food and reduce food waste. The bills all passed on a bipartisan basis.

“Even in this time of a strong economy, the Flemington Area Food Pantry has seen a 15% increase in visits from our Hunterdon County residents this year and a 52% increase from our seniors,” said Jeannine Gorman, Executive Director of Flemington Food Pantry. “We appreciate the Assembly’s efforts to help address our neighbors’ most basic needs.”

“Over the past decade, the poverty rate in Monmouth and Ocean Counties has grown from 6.7% to 9.1%, and the childhood poverty rate has soared from 9.3% to 15.1%,” said Jeremy Grunin, Fulfill’s Board Chairman. “Today, in Monmouth and Ocean Counties, hunger affects 1 out of 10 of our neighbors – including 46,000 children – who do not have enough food to eat. Last year, thanks to the strong support of government, corporate and philanthropic partners,  we provided our neighbors in need with 13 million meals, graduated our 50^th Culinary Training Program Class, and helped families obtain $5.6 million in SNAP benefits, $5.7 million in tax refunds and $4.5 million in affordable health care subsidies. Together, we are working to ensure that ‘Hunger Won’t Win Here.”

While the months of November and December tend to bring large amounts of donations to food pantries, post-holiday months present a struggle for food banks and pantries.

Attached is a list of the anti-hunger bill package passed in the Assembly. The bills are awaiting passage in the State Senate.