How Food Brigade, Little Free Pantries joined St. Peter's Haven in Clifton to fight hunger

CLIFTON — Three organizations in the city have made strides in recent weeks in their efforts to help those who need assistance or are food-insecure.

The Food Brigade and Clifton Little Free Pantry Inc., two of the organizations, are new to the city and have stepped forward to help in the effort to reduce hunger locally. The third, St. Peter's Haven, has long been a city staple in the effort to feed those in need.

The need for help can vary from month to month, experts say. In the summer months, when school-age children are home and not taking part in school breakfasts and lunches, the need for help is higher. However, regardless of the month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said nearly one in eight households experiences food insecurity.

USDA figures show that 17% of households with children are experiencing food insecurity. Nationwide, health officials have made it their goal to reduce that number by half in 2030. Here's how the city-based groups will help. The three organizations are providing help to city residents and other local residents in need.

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The Food Brigade

About two weeks ago, The Food Brigade, a nonprofit group that feeds the hungry, launched a new facility in the city. The 4,200-square-foot building off Colfax Avenue includes a free community market (a term the group prefers rather than food pantry) for North Jersey residents in need.

The community market, available to registered guests who meet at least one of seven poverty-based criteria, is similar in appearance and operation to a grocery store. Guests enter, scan their shopper card, take a shopping cart and make their way through the market, where they can choose from more than 100 food items including fresh produce, fresh dairy, and frozen meat and seafood, officials said.

"We wanted to bring the highest level of respect and dignity to the food-receiving process," said Karen DeMarco, president and co-founder of The Food Brigade. "Being hungry and not having enough food to feed your children is one of the most stressful situations someone can go through."

The facility will also include an education center that provides wraparound services and a 3,000-square-foot warehouse that serves as a distribution hub for The Food Brigade's operations and to support other local food assistance agencies.

The hope is to become more than a stopgap against hunger by informing clients about sessions on enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, job training, nutrition, budgeting, financial literacy and more.

"Food pantries need to move from being transactional to being transformative in the lives of those who come to them for help," DeMarco said. "That takes more than just food."

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The project is being supported by significant grants from the Community FoodBank of New Jersey and the Lowe's Hometowns program, as well as funding from the New Jersey Department of State's Office of Faith Based Initiatives, the AARP Community Challenge award and the Starbucks Foundation.

The Brigade is at 236 Colfax Ave., Clifton. The organization's roots go back to Englewood in the 1990s, when DeMarco was part of an effort to help homeless and hungry people there.

Clifton's Little Free Pantries

Earlier this year, three residents announced their intentions to add three Little Free Pantries in the city . Buoyed by their impact after the three pantries opened, Donna Popowich Nicole Kropinack and Barbara James decided to do even more.

Little Free Pantries are tiny cabinets that are available 24 hours a day. Anyone can stock them with food and grab food as needed. The idea originated in May 2016 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

"We currently have 10 new pantries being built," Popowich said." We plan to place them outside of schools on the north side of town. We are waiting for approval from the Board of Education. I understand the proposal is in facilities."

They'd also like to see some little pantries placed outside the city's senior housing.

"We currently have found our most used pantry is the pet pantry, so we are thinking of erecting extra pet pantries," Popowich said.

Pet pantries are also the hardest to get donations for, as most people prioritize filling the human food pantries, the women said. Currently, Brick City Rescue is sponsoring the mini pet pantry and constantly filling it, Popowich said. The plan is to add a pet pantry in the Botany area.

The group, Clifton Little Free Pantry Inc., has become an official nonprofit and obtained 501(c)(3) status to help with grants and donations, Popowich said.

St. Peter's Haven

One of the longest-serving groups against hunger and homelessness in the city is St. Peter's Haven for the Hungry and Homeless. St. Peter's officials recently said that with the assistance of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, they have obtained a new walk-in combination refrigerator/freezer.

"We are now able to store and provide frozen and fresh items to meet the demand of our food pantry guests," St. Peter's summer newsletter reported.

The haven, at 380 Clifton Ave., is open Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: How Food Brigade, Little Free Pantries joined St. Peter's Haven in Clifton to fight hunger