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'Rutgers Against Hunger' enlists university community in effort to help feed hungry in New Jersey
President Richard L. McCormick has announced the launch of Rutgers Against Hunger (RAH), a universitywide initiative to help feed New Jersey’s hungry and also address the complex and pressing issues of food security through research, education, outreach, and volunteerism.
Though the state ranks as one of the nation’s wealthiest, more residents are turning to emergency pantries and soup kitchens as jobs disappear and living costs increase, leaving them with less money for food. The number of people seeking food assistance in New Jersey has risen as much as 30 percent in some areas. As a result, the cupboards and treasuries of these charitable organizations are becoming bare. They are in need of sustained efforts to enable their work to continue.
“Rutgers has been New Jersey’s land-grant university for more than a century. As such, Rutgers and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station [NJAES] have pursued research and developed educational programs to benefit the state’s farmers, consumers, and businesses,” McCormick said. “But as the economic crisis puts more children and adults at risk because they do not have enough to eat, we have a responsibility to do more to help them with our considerable resources in these areas.”
The RAH initiative will focus the university community’s existing efforts and work toward increasing awareness of the problems facing the state’s neediest residents.
The university will enlist students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the public to create an ongoing program that will stock food banks; provide consumer education on nutrition, food shopping, and preparation; and conduct research toward improving food production, packaging, and distribution.
The most visible component of RAH and one with immediate impact will be a yearlong food and fundraising drive to help replenish the food banks that supply emergency food pantries and soup kitchens serving those who need help in New Jersey.
Rutgers is partnering with the New Jersey Federation of Food Banks, which distributed more than 27 million pounds of food to more than 1,800 charitable programs serving people in need statewide last year. The Community FoodBank of New Jersey, Food Bank of South Jersey, FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, Mercer Street Friends Food Bank and Northwest New Jersey Community Action Program Food Bank are members of the federation.
“Unemployment is up, the economy is down, and more people than ever in New Jersey are struggling with hunger,” said Kathleen DiChiara, president and chief executive officer of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey. “As the state’s key provider of donated food and groceries to emergency pantries and soup kitchens, we desperately need to increase the amount of food available to match the over 30 percent increase in individuals and families seeking help.”
Food collection receptacles for nonperishable items will be placed in university buildings and at select events, including football games. Additional food drives with special themes will be announced on a regular basis and “food drive challenges” will encourage student groups, departments, and offices to compete for a good cause. For example, a recent drive sponsored by Rutgers Recreation collected 100 bins of canned goods, which were delivered to the Middlesex County Food Organization and Outreach Distribution Services (MCFOODS).
For these and other food drives, donors are requested to bring nutritious, nonperishable items, including canned and packaged goods in paper or plastic containers. A list of suggested food and grocery items can be found on the RAH website.
Monetary donations to help purchase food for pantries and soup kitchens also will be accepted electronically via RAH’s website.
Consumer education on nutrition and food preparation will be another component of RAH, drawing on the research and educational resources of Rutgers Cooperative Extension, the outreach and educational arm of NJAES. Opportunities to provide education on proper nutrition and food preparation will be identified.
“The integration of teaching, research, and extension programs to address societal needs is the proud foundation of Rutgers as a land-grant institution,” said Robert M. Goodman, executive dean of the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and executive director of NJAES. “Rutgers Against Hunger is an initiative toward which we will focus the efforts of the entire Rutgers community on food access and nutrition education for New Jersey’s neediest residents, especially children and the elderly.”
Rutgers already serves as a central point of information and education for programs that address hunger and nutrition issues. Among them:
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SNAP-Ed is the acronym for the education component of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as the federal Food Stamp program). Headquartered in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, SNAP-Ed is aimed at improving nutrition and increasing physical activity among SNAP-eligible audiences.
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NJAES offers practical, free information to the public on trimming grocery bills and preparing food.
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Through the Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE) 4-H youth programs, young people are educated throughout the state on healthy lifestyles and also conduct food drives.
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Master Gardener programs sponsored by RCE have developed gardens that donate their crops to local food banks and also participate in gleanings to collect produce for the needy.
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In the classroom, Rutgers students are engaged in experiential learning activities that address nutritional issues accompanying food insecurity. Students in Peggy Policastro’s Nutrition Counseling and Communication class in the Department of Nutritional Sciences have developed educational materials for SNAP-Ed’s statewide “Calcium: Select to Protect” campaign on the importance of calcium in preventing disease. Students also work with low-resource populations at soup kitchens and social service agencies.
Volunteer and charitable activities that already have been scheduled include:
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Nov. 22, Dec. 4: Nonperishable food items will be collected at Rutgers Stadium and the Louis Brown Athletic Center on football game days for the Community FoodBank of New Jersey and Salvation Army.
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Dec. 13: Monetary donations will be collected in addition to children’s toys during the Big Chill, a 5K race sponsored by Rutgers Recreation. Checks may be made out to Rutgers University/Big Chill. The money will be used to purchase grocery gift cards to be donated to M.C.F.O.O.D.S. for distribution to the needy.
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Nov. 17-24: The Great University Bake Sale will donate proceeds from the sale of apple pies baked by students to MCFOODS for grocery gift cards. Sponsored jointly by Rutgers Recreation and Dining Services, the effort raised $1,200 last year.
Student, faculty, and staff organizations throughout the Rutgers community are encouraged to plan additional events, volunteer with local organizations, and become educated about the issues surrounding food security in New Jersey. The RAH website offers tips and guidance on organizing food drives and other types of activities that address hunger.
In addition, student learning through civic participation is the aim of the Civic Engagement and Service Education Partnership (CESEP) program for undergraduates. Recently, students volunteered through CESEP at a Sunday fundraiser at Elijah’s Promise soup kitchen in New Brunswick that raised more than $5,500.
RAH also will encompass food drives and other volunteer and charitable activities on the Newark and Camden campuses that benefit organizations that feed the hungry.
Rutgers Against Hunger is led by Leslie Fehrenbach, university secretary, and Larry S. Katz, director of Rutgers Cooperative Extension. To contact RAH, email rah@rutgers.edu or call 732-445-INFO.