NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Rutgers Department of Family and Community Health Sciences (FCHS) provides nutrition, health, and wellness education for a variety of audiences of any socioeconomic status. With SNAP-Ed grant funding from the New Jersey Department of Health, FCHS SNAP-Ed staff also seek to help improve healthy food access for limited resource populations, by identifying strategies to address issues in the food supply chain.
Due to the increasing food insecurity caused by the pandemic, Mercer County SNAP-Ed assumed a leadership role in a partner coalition, to address both short and longer-term food insecurity issues.
After learning about a 14-pallet overrun of healthy Delta Dairy Greek yogurt, with an estimated retail value of $55,000, SNAP-Ed led the coordination effort to get the yogurt distributed to New Jersey neighbors in need in Mercer, Atlantic, Cumberland and Cape May Counties.
SNAP-Ed worked with multiple partners, including the New Jersey Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, the New Jersey Hellenic American Heritage Commission, and the American Logistics Aid Network to get the generous Delta Dairy donation to New Jersey, and then worked with the Community Food Bank of New Jersey and Rolling Harvest Food Rescue, to get the yogurt into the hands of those in need.
It takes a village, now more than ever, to nourish our neighbors in need through this difficult time. Thanks to SNAP-Ed leadership , Rolling Harvest Food Rescue was able to provide nutritious and delicious donated yogurt, as part of an emergency food distribution in Trenton, to thousands of neighbors in need, who were so grateful to receive it.” – Cathy Snyder, Founder and Executive Director, Rolling Harvest Food Rescue
Rolling Harvest provided the yogurt to 1100 households (3800 family members) at an emergency food distribution event at the CURE Arena in Trenton, and the Community Food Bank of New Jersey worked with their 200 partner food pantries to distribute the delicious and healthy yogurt to even more families in need, just before the holiday season!
Colette Kraus, the Food Sourcing Manager at The Community Food Bank of New Jersey in Egg Harbor Township, expressed her gratitude to SNAP-Ed, “Thank you for all your assistance with this kind donation. This yogurt donation will reach many families in our community needing help, especially with the Covid-19 crisis.”
–Rutgers University
