We're so grateful to our new partner, Maplecrest  Moves Charities, supported by Maplecrest Ford Lincoln of Union, for regularly bringing their van to the Community Foodbank (CFB) in Hillside and then to our host, Epiphany Church, to help us gather food, produce and diapers. Volunteers from Investors Bank then provide the people power needed to unload all that food off a UHaul and the Maplecrest Van and into our pantry rooms in preparation for our distribution.

With the upsurge in our client numbers, we were no longer able to fit everything we have to pick up at the CFB each month in one rented UHaul. Being able to rely on Maplecrest Moves Charities means we can get much of the food our clients need at a reasonable cost from the CFB, rather than having to rely on supermarket deliveries or rent a second UHaul. 

If you'd like to help us do some heavy lifting once a month on a Tuesday afternoon, contact Diane Stein at  [email protected].

For the past 4 years, the Walton School has created a lush vegetable garden in the center of their Springfield K-2 school as part of their science curriculum, and then donated all the resulting produce to us. We are in awe of the dedication of the committed teachers at the school who,  inspired by teacher Robin Kirna and supported wholeheartedly by Principal Dr. Susie Hung (shown here with IFPO's Peggy Baggeley), tended and harvested the veggies throughout the long, hot summer. Our clients really enjoyed the resulting dazzling array of cukes, peppers, eggplants, tomatoes and giant zucchinis they received several times over the summer. We are constantly trying to improve the "healthy content" of the food offered at IFPO, and this 

bounty of produce amplifies  what we already offer them with Client Choice. 

In September we welcomed the intrepid Winston School eighth grade class, who were accompanied by their teachers and head of school Dr. Peter Lewis.  These students (personally new to the Pantry, but part of a long Winston tradition of 8th grade IFPO service) did a great job learning the ropes and reaching out to our clients. We could see them grow into their roles over the course of the morning and they impressed us by how quickly they caught on. They were a great help as they escorted clients; assembled MEND "Hunger Buster" packages of saltines, peanut butter and juice boxes for parents of elementary school children; worked our stations; made snack bags for the Element of Play program; and pre-packed diapers and wipes for distribution on diaper days. We look forward to seeing them again each month this school year.

 

Would you like to help our clients and members of our host congregation receive free tax assistance? For households struggling to afford basic services, paying for tax preparation is a real burden; we know of a client who paid $200 for tax preparation services when his income was only $5,000 for the year! You can learn to prepare taxes for these individuals. We've learned that United Way of Northern New Jersey teams up with the Internal Revenue Services's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program and other community partners to provide free tax preparation for low income families and individuals, and hope to offer our clients this service. In 2016, over 150 volunteers prepared 5873 tax returns for NJ clients, saving an estimated $1.2 million in preparation fees and putting over $6 million in refunds back into their wallets.  

No experience is necessary, and an accounting or financial background is not necessary. Free training will be provided to teach you everything you need to know as a tax preparer of both federal and state returns. For more information, including the opportunity to sign up for a one-hour orientation webinar, contact [email protected] or phone 973-993-1160, x 529.