Plainfielders, we can't let this bank fail!

'The Boss' says we can't let this bank fail.

Many Plainfielders are aware that hunger is a problem in our community and have pitched in to help, either through food pantries or soup kitchens sponsored by their house of worship or by contributing to organizations such as StarFish and the Salvation Army.

This year, more people than ever are turning to Plainfield's feeding programs as the economy tanks and joblessness rises. And hunger is reaching people who never had to reach out for help before -- just last night at a fundraising dinner party for the Plainfield Symphony, I learned of three more people out of work, all living on one block and all professionals for whom the experience is new and devastating.

Besides drawing on donations of cash and canned goods from local members, a number of Plainfield's feeding programs are able to multiply their resources by drawing on the Community FoodBank of NJ (CFBNJ) in Hillside. But as requests for food assistance have risen, food donations are on the decline, leaving food bank shelves almost empty and hungry families waiting for something to eat.

At the Community FoodBank of NJ, requests for food have gone up 30 percent, but donations are down by 25 percent. Warehouse shelves that are typically stocked with food are bare and supplies have gotten so low that, for the first time in its 25 year history, the food bank is developing a rationing mechanism. Take a moment to watch the video below, shot on site at the Hillside facility, where you can see the empty shelves and bins and hear of the need through the voices of staff and volunteers.

As the state's key distributor of food to local banks – serving more than 500,000 people a year and providing assistance to nearly 1,700 non-profits in the state, including many in Plainfield – the stability of replenishment of the CFBNJ is essential to ensuring that individuals in need have access to food. We can't let this bank fail.

If everyone could just do a little, it would help those in need a lot. Here's what you can do to help:

• Make a monetary contribution: Visit www.njfoodbank.org.
  
  
• Donate food: Drop off a bag of food at your local food pantry -- for a list of local pantries, see www.sefan.org/.
  
  
• Organize a food drive: CFBNJ can help explain the logistics of starting a food drive. Just call 908-355-FOOD.
  
  
• Help "Check Out Hunger": Look for the "Check Out Hunger" coupons at your local supermarket and donate. No donation is too small!

This holiday season, in which food always plays such an important role, you can do more than feed your family and friends.

You can feed your soul. Make a donation -- in your name, or as a gift in the name of someone else, or in thanks or remembrance for someone who has been important in your life.

Why not do it today?

You can also print out this coupon and mail it with your check to: Community FoodBank of NJ, 31 Evans Terminal Road, Hillside, NJ 07205.

(Click on coupon image to enlarge and print.)

PLAINFIELD TODAY is one of more than a hundred New Jersey blogs who are joining together today to 'Blog Out Hunger'. For a list of all participating blogs, see JerseyBites.com/.

NOTE: One thing that people commonly confuse is the role of the food bank. The CFBNJ is similar to a wholesale distributor, as they provide food to more than 1,600 charities throughout the state, which then give food directly to the hungry (the food bank does not give food directly to individuals). The food bank also cannot accept small amounts of food, such as a cart of groceries. They encourage those donations go directly to a local food pantry or soup kitchen. Rather, the food bank accepts large quantity food donations, such as a truck full of groceries, as well as monetary donations which they stretch to purchase food at wholesale prices, such as 300 lb. bags of rice, for example.

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-- Dan Damon

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