Food insecurity in N.J.: NJPAC event tackles growing crisis

Over 1.1 million New Jerseyans suffer from food insecurity, and advocates say that number is rising as the federal government takes scissors to the nation’s safety net.

That’s why the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) is using its third annual Prudential North to Shore Festival to present its final “Standing in Solidarity” event of the season, a program entitled “Nourishing Communities: Confronting Food Insecurity Together.”

​The free program at NJPAC, at 1 Center St. in Newark, starts at 6 p.m. on Monday, June 23, but doors open at 4:30 p.m. for a cooking demonstration showing off healthier recipes with fewer processed ingredients.

At 6 p.m., the PSEG Social Impact Film Series will screen the 30-minute documentary “Starved: Our Food Insecurity Crisis,” followed by a discussion moderated by Jasmyne Beckford, manager in Inclusive Solutions at Prudential Financial.

The panelists will include Dr. Joshua Ardise, vice president and chief medical officer at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey; Hend El-Buri, director, Nutrition & Food at Rutgers–Newark; Balpreet Grewal-Virk, senior vice president of Community Health for RWJBarnabasHealth; Elizabeth McCarthy, president and CEO of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey: and Tanya Veltz, co-founder of Tree House Cares, a nonprofit that provides essential resources to Newark’s most vulnerable populations.

​McCarthy, who heads New Jersey’s largest food bank, is looking forward to the discussion as it will bring together people involved in all aspects of food insecurity.

Her organization, which works with food partners and smaller kitchens across the state, helps serve 750,000 meals per month and goes through 100 million pounds of food a year.

​She said the Community FoodBank gets its food from three main sources.

“The first one is the federal government,” McCarthy said. Other sources are donations and food that’s purchased. “Between our private fundraising and the state of New Jersey funding, we do have great buying power,” she added, “so at least when we do buy food, it’s at reasonable rates. But in the last few months, we’re down about 20% in the food that we get from the federal government, so the other two sources have to increase.

​“North to Shore has been a great partnership for us. It raises some funds through ticket sales to some events, but really having people talk about this issue [and] understanding how pervasive it is is so important. There is not a single community in New Jersey that doesn’t have some food insecurity,” McCarthy added, “and the fact that it’s being held at NJPAC in Newark is helpful because Newark has among the highest food insecurity. Twenty-three percent of children in Essex County are food insecure, which is just a staggering number. So, the event is an opportunity to highlight the issue and hopefully let people know some ways they can help.”

North to Shore’s mission is equally important for David Rodriguez, executive vice president of NJPAC and executive producer of the North to Shore festival.

“We feel very strongly that this needs to be a festival with a soul,” he said. “As we enter our third season, a key to all of our discussions with the artists has been ‘how do we make a difference?’ In the first two years, we championed a number of different causes, including food insecurity, fentanyl awareness, and human trafficking, but this year, we decided to pick one cause where we can really make a difference.

“We partnered with the state’s five major food distributors and Horizon Blue Cross, which is a big sponsor of the festival,” Rodriguez said. “We all want to help provide healthy food options at our shelters, soup kitchens and pantries.”​

Rodriguez and McCarthy both acknowledge that it’s typically easier to find pasta and canned food at pantries but harder for them to stock fresh produce.

Getting healthy food to those who need it, though, is only part of the battle. They also want the pantries to be more welcoming, less stigmatizing and easier to access. A pantry that’s not close to a bus stop will be a problem for many seniors, and seniors are the fastest-growing group facing food insecurity, they said.

Jonathan R. Pearson, executive director of the nonprofit Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, a philanthropic arm of Horizon Blue Cross, said it is thrilled to be involved with such a worthwhile cause and terrific festival.

“We’re a Newark-based company with 3.6 million members,” Pearson said. “North to Shore is an excellent festival in terms of execution, and it celebrates the diversity of talent in our state. It’s really a great way to blend the performers’ artistry and the way we serve New Jerseyans.”

Our goal with this year’s message, Pearson added, is to provide knowledge and help New Jerseyans make better choices when it comes to their nutrition and their health.

Rodriguez agreed.

“It’s not just about fun,” he said, “but making a difference. Caring. Helping people get over any shame they may have regarding food insecurity. If an arts festival can promote empathy, that’s one of the coolest things on the planet.”

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