Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin Visits Phillipsburg for Local Understanding of Food Insecurity and Housing Costs at Norwescap Food Bank

PHILLIPSBURG, NJ - New Jersey Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin visited the Norwescap Food Bank in Phillipsburg on July 15, 2024, to discuss the topic of food insecurity among Warren, Sussex, and Hunterdon County residents.

Assemblyman Coughlin , D-Middlesex County, has demonstrated his commitment and passion for raising money for NJ’s 19th Legislative District ’s food bank and soup kitchens.

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“He has been a game changer for food insecurity,” said Mark Valli, CEO of Norwescap. “Not just for food banks, but for SNAP benefits.”

Coughlin spoke to dozens of individuals representing the Flemington Area Food Pantry , The Lord’s Pantry, Sparta Community Food Pantry , The Outreach Connection , Open Cupboard Food Pantry , Foodshed Alliance , and Fisherman’s Mark .

“You’re all incredibly selfless,” Coughlin said. “I’m sure you could make more money doing something else, but I don’t think it would even be a fraction of what you’re doing everyday.”

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Coughlin went on to say, “I don’t know about you, but it makes me really annoyed when people are hungry.” He also explained that he is a lucky guy who was blessed enough to never have to struggle with food insecurity, adding, “I care about those people who don’t have any food.”

After the COVID-19 pandemic, Coughlin made the topic of food insecurity a major goal for NJ. In fact, the general consensus among attendees was the belief that hard situations would lull or lessen after COVID. Instead, the need and demand for food became higher.

Mark Valli Weighs In On Food Insecurity At A Local Level

From Valli’s perspective at Norwescap, they have seen the demand go up by about 70% in the last two years. With the thanks of state support, Valli says they have been able to keep up with this demand.

“I think we all thought that when COVID went away, that food security and people not being able to feed their families would stop,” explained Valli. “That’s not at all how any of this worked.”

Valli further explained that suddenly individuals realized their SNAP benefits were reduced, other income supports went away, and their rents went up after COVID. “That’s the real killer,” said Valli. “That rent is skyrocketing across the state.”

Valli said people had to learn to make ends meet by supplementing their budgets by visiting Norwescap’s pantry partners.

“There are a couple of people here [today] who have gone through food insecurity,” said Valli, further saying that is why Coughlin made the trip in order to hear from individuals at a local level.

The Stigma On Food Banks

Norwescap’s Food Bank is dedicated to ending hunger and reducing food waste by soliciting, warehousing, and distributing donated food and other products to partner organizations. Volunteers from local groups, churches, clubs and businesses come together to conduct food and fund drives, and work on-site, to help end hunger.

Norwescap’s Communications and Marketing Manager Dawn Hartfelder says the first step was noticing that food itself wasn’t necessarily the issue. Finding where the food demand was and where it needed to go was the issue.

“There is a lack of understanding as to why someone goes to a food bank,” explained Hartfelder. “You don’t know what brought that person there.”

Hartfelder asked an important question, “Are you supposed to have this classic look?”

She further explained situations such as job loss, divorce, loss of a family member, saying, “Then all of a sudden, you need help.”

Making A Difference In The Community

Owner Rachel Laul and volunteer Claudia Schmidt of The Outreach Connection spoke to TAPinto about what they see in Warren County when it comes to food insecurity.

“The clients come in, they get a shopping cart, and they get a shopping list based on their family size,” said Laul. “We also have a lot of people with medical food restrictions who come, so they can get low sodium items or look at the cans.”

The Outreach Connection provides food, hygiene products, pet supplies, baby diapers, and more. Laul says they have 1,000 clients a month who visit the location, which is set up to look just like a grocery store.

“I think when you first realize you’re not going to make ends meet for the next month, you come to a food pantry,” said Laul. “We always have run off of the idea that we want to provide dignity in everything we do.”

Laul and Schmidt both said that since COVID, they have seen an uptick in clients. The Outreach Connection currently accepts 25 to 30 new families a month. Last year, they had a 64% increase in overall clients.

“All of our numbers have almost doubled,” Laul shared.

Just this year alone, The Outreach Connection has seen a 33% increase in clients.

What Is Next For Phillipsburg’s Norwescap?

Lisa Weber, Norwescap’s Senior Director for Food Security and Health Equity, took the media on a tour of Norwescap’s food warehouse.

“This was a shell of a building,” explained Weber. “With assistance from some state funding, we were able to renovate all of this and double our freezer capacity and double the shelf stable capacity.”

The newest addition to Norwescap is a brand-new, week-old truck in the parking lot, not yet branded.

“The new truck is also needed to get fresh produce from farmers to pantries, since we want to invest in local farmers,” said Weber. The truck will go to a farm and then go to multiple pantries along the way.”

Norwescap’s Food Bank is a Partner Distribution Organization of the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, a member of Feeding America.

“No one prior to him has really acknowledged food insecurity the way he has, as far as funding goes,” said Hartfelder, in regard to Assemblyman Coughlin.

“He has done huge things,” said Weber. “Like make sure we have a minimum SNAP benefit of $95.”

Assemblyman Coughlin has been in the NJ General Assembly since 2010. He has served as the Speaker of the NJ General Assembly since 2018, making him the longest-serving speaker in history.

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