The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
The Franklin Food Bank is one of 14 food assistance organizations receiving a total of $1 million from RWJBarnabas Health.
The Food Bank Network of Somerset County and Elijah’s Promise of New Brunswick are also among the organizations receiving grants.
The grants are meant to help combat food insecurity in light of the interruption in federal food assistance benefits, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program, according to a press release about the grants.
“As both an anchor institution and a partner in our communities, we recognize that food and health are inseparable,” Mark E. Manigan, President and Chief Executive Officer of RWJBarnabas Health said in the release. “For years, we have proudly partnered with the State and invested in programs that ensure individuals and families have access to healthy food. We are doubling down on that commitment at a time of increased pressures on households when food assistance is at risk.”
“Our contribution is a bridge to help support families and local feeding organizations meet immediate needs while we continue investing in and building out the infrastructure to support them over the long term,” he said in the release.
More than 800,000 New Jerseyans and nearly half a million households rely on SNAP benefits, according to state statistics, with approximately half being children and one-third being people with disabilities, according to the release.
“No one deserves to go hungry, and it is unthinkable that those in charge of our federal government are allowing vital lifelines like SNAP to be disrupted,” Acting New Jersey Health Commissioner Jeff Brown said in the release. “By stepping up with donations big and small, RWJBarnabas Health and people across the state are showing New Jersey’s true colors. When our neighbors need help, we pitch in.”
The funding is being provided through an NJShelter and Health Access Grant RWJBarnabas Health received from the state to support programs and community partnerships that increase access to food, housing, street medicine and temperature related relief for the purpose of increasing access to high quality health care and improving outcomes for unhoused individuals, according to the release.
“RWJBarnabas Health continues to be a strategic partner to food security efforts throughout the state,”New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate Executive Director Mark Dinglasan said in the release. “This support affirms that, especially in times of crisis, the partnerships that we continue to build in New Jersey can drive strategies and efforts that deliver responsive aid to individuals and families where it is most needed. I commend RWJBarnabas Health and its leadership for this much-needed support.”
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