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Interfaith Food Pantry
of the Oranges
Helping those in need in Orange & East Orange, NJ
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A proud member of the MEND network of food pantries
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Client choice: a resounding success
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We're thrilled to report that our conversion to a full client choice pantry has been incredibly well received by both clients and volunteers. In July, we began offering clients the opportunity to select their own food instead of receiving a pre-packed bag of groceries. Clients receive a card at registration each week that indicates, based on their family size, how many items they can choose from each of the vegetable, fruit, protein, grain, other (soup, jelly, milk and dessert) and free (including toiletries at least once a month) stations.
Our clients have commented how they feel treated with respect and dignity with this new system. We've seen clients decline additional quantities they were allowed when they really didn't need it, rather than "stocking up" their personal pantries. They've enjoyed getting to spend their "points" to take multiple quantities of an item they prefer (canned green peas and dried beans are big hits), and not being handed items they don't like or need. They love that, when we had fresh vegetables from Farm & Fork Society, the Walton School or other community gardens, they could choose between peppers or cauliflower or eggplant or potatoes or (you get the idea - whatever their family's personal preference was). This past week, a donation to MEND from America's Grow A Row (Pittstown, NJ Farm) meant they had an extra fresh choice between tomatoes and cucumbers, squash, peppers and eggplants. We loved that they chose between loaves of fresh bread from Whole Foods or Panera baked goods or bagged Goldberg bagels.
We're thrilled to be able to start bringing clients through by 9:00 each week, earlier than we could when we bagged groceries. If clients need to leave pantry quickly for an appointment or work, we offer them the option of a pre-packed "grab and go" bag.
Our volunteers love the additional interaction they have with our clients as they escort them through the system and help them make choices at our stations. We served 546 clients in July (representing 1,789 individuals, including 769 children); 803 clients in August, a month when there were 4 pantry weeks
(representing 2633 individuals, including 1143 children) and 642 in September (representing 2,064 individuals, including 863 children).
Pantry hours have changed slightly since July. We're hard at work setting up by 8:15, and we find it takes a little longer on a busy day (and most days are), so though we close the door for client registration at 11:00 am, we now generally escort our last client out between 11:30 and 11:45 (and then break down our stations).
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Some of the fresh choices offered our clients.
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Toiletries and Whole Foods donated bread at the Free Station.
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Maplecrest Moves Charities Helps Us Get the Goods!
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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].
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Walton School Garden Grows for IFPO
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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.
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Winston School Partnership Supports IFPO
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By pre-packing diapers and wipes, we were able to help
mothers with 120 babies on
"Diaper Day" (the last pantry day of the month).
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AMAZON SMILE:
Almost every time you shop on Amazon, your purchases can benefit IFPO. Just remember to start (every single time) at
smile.Amazon.com
, and choose us as your charity of choice your first time there.
The AmazonSmile Foundation will then donate 0.5% of the purchase price from your eligible AmazonSmile purchases. You do not incur any added costs. What a simple way to drive funds to help the IFPO.
DRIVERS WANTED TO HELP US PROVIDE FRESH PRODUCE:
We purchase produce each week at the Farmer's Market on Route 10, using an Alleluia grant from the Episcopal Diocese of Newark.
If you might be able to occasionally pick up this produce for us on Tuesday and delivery it to the Church on a Wednesday pantry morning, contact
WE ALWAYS NEED BAGS!
Even if you can't join us on a Wednesday morning, we can always use your brown paper grocery bags and yellow Shoprite plastic bags. We're going through more bags than ever with Client Choice providing food to larger families, and with our growing numbers. Drop them off at your congregational food drop-off site or contact one of our
Board members
to see how you can get bags to us.
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Help Your Neighbors and Learn Valuable Skills
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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.
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Thanks to Lynn Pawlicki and the employees of the Short Hills Hilton who recently donated over 300 pounds of non-perishable food!
We're grateful for their continued support.
Whole Foods of West Orange is our new partner. We're picking up several bags of fabulous loaves of bread each
week. If you might be available for a Tuesday night pickup at 10:00 pm with delivery to IFPO on Wednesday, let us know!
Our clients were offered the opportunity for voter registration on Sept. 28.
Bilingual volunteers were provided as a result of a joint training project of the League of Women Voters and the National Council of Jewish Women.
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Each fall Emma Joy, 16, and Quinn Joy, 13, challenge their friends, neighbors and classmates to spend one week collecting as many items as they can for the IFPO.
Here, they are posing with some of the hundreds of food items they collected in September 2016. The students of TSTI's Religious School and generous neighbors on Glenside Road, South Orange were a huge help in the campaign that challenged donors to contribute one of each of these food pantry favorites: tuna, jelly and coffee.
We took part in MEND's Action Against Hunger event on Sept. 25.
Thanks to the customers of Kings, Short Hills who supported our efforts and donated 600 pounds of food.
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Teen Board member Sam Comito with Peggy Baggaley at the event. |
We love when families like the DeCiantis clan make IFPO their mission!
Jonathan DeCiantis has run Coat Drives for us, and Laurie and the children volunteer. In discussing her upcoming 11th birthday, Catherine ("Catty") realized how lucky she is to not know hunger or worry about her next meal. She asked for donations to IFPO in lieu of presents as she celebrated with a scavenger hunt party in the Reservation. We're thrilled to be see the impact being at Pantry has on our kids. Thanks, and Happy Birthday Catty!
The Summit Medical Group Foundation visited IFPO.
On Sept. 28, they offered our clients blood pressure screenings and information. They'll return in Oct. to provide diabetes and cholesterol screenings.
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