New Providence Council Proclaims October as Food Insecurity Awareness Month; Recognizes Abigail Franco and Aidan Barth for Helping Residents in Need

NEW PROVIDENCE, NJ – Mayor Al Morgan read a proclamation designating October as Food Insecurity Awareness Month at the Tuesday, September 24 council meeting. Abigail Franco and Aidan Barth, who started the LINC-program two and a half years ago while still in high school to help local families in need, attended the meeting to receive the proclamation.

Councilwoman Nadine Geoffroy also complemented Franco and Barth for their “tireless effort and passion” to grow the program and assist residents in need.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE FREE TAPINTO.NET NEWSLETTER

Barth explained that the program has provided over 10 tons of food for those in need. The organization has approximately 50 families in their network and approximately 35 families come every month to receive food and personal hygiene items. Those who wish to donate to the program can find more information at https://lincnj.org/ .

Councilman Matthew Cumiskey reflected on his own childhood in a family suffering from food insecurity and expressed his gratitude to organizations like LINC that provide resources for those in need.

The proclamation read: “Food insecurity is the lack of consistent access to enough food for every person in a household to live an active, healthy life. It can be temporary or long lasting, and affects people across all different races, ages, and income classes in the United States. In America, about 1 in 10 people, and 1 in 6 children, are experiencing food insecurity. Within Union County alone, over 7.3% of residents, or about 40,000 people, are currently food insecure, including a rate of 9.2% for children, or about 12,000 children.

Thousands of non-profit organizations and food banks, including the LINC Program Inc, have been set up across the United States with the goal of fighting food insecurity, working tirelessly to provide families with necessary nutritional support. Because food insecurity is often tied to other major troubles, like poverty, unemployment, health conditions, and more, it is even harder to put an end to it. However, with the issue growing every day, more work must be done to raise awareness about it and fight it head on. “

DOWNLOAD THE FREE TAPINTO APP FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS. AVAILABLE IN THE APPLE STORE AND THE GOOGLE PLAY STORE .

Regarding other news Morgan lamented the divisive tone in public discourse, mainly on social media. He noted that such negativity and dividedness was not present in New Providence in the past. He urged residents to “get along” and to seek information by contacting borough officials rather than through social media posts.

For more local news, visit TAPinto.net