June 2009

My kids are hungry.  Can I come get a food package today?   

Tammi made this call to the Center for Food Action on the fourth Monday of April.  When she arrived at CFA later that day, she said that it had been a rough weekend because her unemployment check was insufficient to cover her rent and buy food.  Tammi was in tears as she told CFA’s advocate that she had sent her children, Kendra and James, to school earlier that day without breakfast.  She knew that she had to reach out for help and remembered that in better days, her children had taken food to the school for a drive that benefited CFA.  Although she could barely believe that she was doing so, Tammi dialed CFA’s Englewood office asking for help.  Thanks to the emergency food package Tammi picked up that afternoon, she was able to feed her family while waiting for her next unemployment check to arrive. 

Our lights have been shut off; can you get them turned back on for us?  

'We got behind on our utility bill when I lost my job', Pete told the volunteer who was answering the phone at CFA’s Elmwood Park site.  Pete and his wife Maryanne had been struggling to make ends meet since he lost his job in January.  They had used their savings to pay rent and Maryanne’s earnings from a part-time job allowed them to buy food and gas for the car but they had not been able to pay their utility bill.  Now with their utilities disconnected, they turned to CFA.  CFA made a $300 payment to PSE&G to get their services turned back on and with CFA providing a seven-day food package to the family, Pete and Maryanne were able to put another $150 toward the bill. As Pete picked up the food package, he promised CFA’s social worker that when he got a job he’d make a donation so that ‘CFA could keep the circle going’.

Neither Tammi nor Pete and Maryanne ever imagined they would require help to put food on their tables or keep their lights on.  Many of those now turning to the Center for Food Action never thought they would be forced to seek emergency help to feed their families or pay their most basic expenses.

The current economic situation is taking a terrible toll on an ever increasing number of our neighbors.  CFA’s client numbers started to climb in October and continued to rise steadily over the next several months.  During the past three months, we have seen the number of people coming for food, utility and/or rental assistance soar.  Your help is urgently needed so that CFA can provide the helping hand that so many of our neighbors currently need.   Your contribution will make a huge difference. 

Please, give as generously as you can.  Your neighbors are counting on your help.  Without your support, the Center for Food Action will not have sufficient resources to care for the thousands of people now seeking help.   Mail your check to Center for Food Action, 192 W. Demarest Ave., Englewood, NJ 07631, or, call 201-569-1804, ext. 25 with a credit card, or make your gift via PayPal.  

Your gift puts food on the table and keeps the lights on.

 

The Center for Food Action in New Jersey

The Center for Food Action (CFA) provides emergency food, rental and utility assistance, counseling, and advocacy to our neighbors in need in Bergen County and in the Upper Passaic Valley. Last year CFA distributed nearly $2.7 million worth of food -that’s nearly 42,260 emergency food packages - and helped 734 families stay in their homes and/or kept their heat and electric from being turned off.

CFA also operates the NJ Anti-Hunger Coalition (NJAHC), formerly known as the Statewide Emergency Food and Anti-Hunger Network (SEFAN). NJAHC serves as a clearinghouse for information, training and technical assistance to emergency food providers and works to end hunger in our state.

 

OritaniBank Charitable Foundation Donates Second Installment of a $100,000 Grant to the Center for Food Action

Township of Washington, NJ During these tough economic times, Oritani Bank is taking action to prevent hunger and homelessness in our community.  More people than ever now need help to put food on their tables and keep a roof over their heads.  OritaniBank Charitable Foundation recently presented a $50,000 check to CFA, the second installment of its $100,000 pledge.

(L-R) Jim James, Site Manager at CFA Mahwah, Patricia Espy, Executive Director of CFA, Kevin J. Lynch, President of the OritaniBank Charitable Foundation and Chairman, President and CEO of Oritani Bank.

In November of ’08, Oritani awarded a $100,000 grant to The Center for Food Action, a non-profit organization that provides emergency food packages, rental and utility assistance, counseling and advocacy to individuals and families in need living in northern New Jersey. The grant provided a $50,000 award in ’08 and another $50,000 award to be made in early ’09 to support the CFA’s emergency services. This grant was made specifically to help fund CFA’s emergency services program that is helping people from all walks of life in our communities who now find themselves in need of assistance..   

In a recent interview with Kevin J. Lynch, President of the OritaniBank Charitable Foundation and Chairman, President and CEO of Oritani Bank, Mr. Lynch commented, “We realize that many businesses and individuals are struggling these days and have scaled back or ceased donating money to charitable organizations. Fortunately, Oritani Bank remains financially rock-solid and steadfast in its’ commitment to the CFA and other local charities.  The needs in our communities are real and have dramatically increased over the past year. We recognize the strain that this has placed in emergency funding that is rapidly being depleted while donations are at times at a standstill. Therefore, now more than ever, Oritani vows to continue aiding local area residents with contributions to worthy organizations which support the community. This fall, we also plan to host our annual charity golf outing – again in support of the CFA.  Last year the proceeds from the Oritani Bank Golf Classic exceeded $43,500.  This year we hope to match or exceed that amount again”      

The OritaniBank Charitable Foundation was established in 2007 to assist not-for-profit organizations that help to improve the quality of life for residents in Bergen, Hudson, and Passaic counties.  Since its inception, the Foundation has donated close to a million dollars to local charitable organizations, primarily in support of education, health & human services, youth programs, and affordable housing.

Oritani Bank is a 98 year old community bank with over $1.6 billion in assets, based in the Township of Washington, New Jersey.  Oritani Bank is a publicly held Mutual Holding Company trading on the NASDAQ with the trading symbol “ORIT.”  Oritani Bank has 21 branches throughout Bergen, Hudson, and Passaic Counties, and offers a full line of deposit and loan services to both retail and commercial customers.  For more information, call 888-ORITANI, or visit their website, www.oritani.com.

 

 

 

CFA Thanks

Bush Distributing LLC

for selecting CFA as the recipient of the 10th Annual Outing held on June 17 at the High Mountain Golf Club in Franklin Lakes, which raised $2,650 for CFA.

 Proceeds will be used to purchase fresh produce, eggs, and meat for CFA's clients.  Sponsors included Bush Distributing LLC, North Jersey Community Bank, OPW, VST, Vaporless Manufacturing,

and Petro Clean Champion Laboratories, Inc.

 2009 CFA Gala Evening of

Fine Wines & Gourmet Cuisine

More pictures are posted on the"It

Takes a Community Page"

Food Pantries to Reap Bounty of Excess Harvest

CFA Mahwah

Celebrates Its Volunteers

Please click onto "CFA Sites- Mahwah" for more photos.

Plant It.

Grow It.

Give It.

Go to Upcoming Events to see how you can participate

Franklinlakesdiscovery.com

 

Residence Inn and Fairfield Inn East Rutherford Collaborate

to Help CFA

Tracy Pine and Maria White representatives of the Residence Inn and Fairfield Inn East Rutherford, with the Center for Food Action’s Carlstadt site manager Soo Eo (center) Concord Hospitality which manages both hotels donated 800 boxes of food through the Feed the Children Program to CFA. CFA was one of the recipients of the donation and has the food available for families and individuals in the local community. The Carlstadt site is open Tuesday and Thursday from 10:00am to 3:00pm. Please go to: www.cfanj.org for information

about CFA. For information on Feed the Children go to www.feedthechildren.org. For information on Concord Hospitality go to www.concordhotels.com

Concord Hospitality Enterprises

and Feed the Children Collaborate to Help CFA

Volunteers from the Renaissance Meadowlands Hotel, Courtyard by Marriott Lyndhurst, Fairfield Inn East Rutherford, Residence Inn East Rutherford, and the Clinton Inn, brave the cold to help CFA. This event was spear headed by Toni Pinto, Manager of the Renaissance Meadowlands Hotel and Nancy Stone, Senior Account Executive for Concord Hospitalities in NJ (second and third from the left).

 

CROSS RIVER BANK DONATES $5,000 TO CFA

The area’s newest community bank, Cross River Bank located at 885 Teaneck Road in Teaneck, has donated $5,000.00 CFA for its emergency food

and homelessness

prevention program.

For more information,

please go to:

"It Takes a Community"

A HELPFUL HINT

By unplugging your appliances and electronic devices from power outlets, you will save money on your electric bill and conserve a significant amount of energy and unnecessary CO2 from being released into the atmosphere. For more information about this go to:

www.creativecitizen.com