The Mission of the Interfaith Food Pantry Is To

Report The Mission of the Interfaith Food Pantry is to: • Improve the health and well-being of Morris County residents in need by providing access to food, nutrition education and related resources; • Provide hands on opportunities for neighbors to help neighbors; • Educate the public about the issues of hunger in our area. “neighbors helping neighbors” 2017 Impact 2 Executive Drive - Morris Plains, NJ 07950 (p) 973-538-8049 (f) 973-998-5086 www.mcifp.org 1,1 3 4 , 8 5 3 POUNDS OF FOOD DISTRIBUTED IN 201 7 Dear Friends, BY THE I am so pleased to present to you our Annual Report for 2017. As NUMBERS you peruse these pages you’ll see what an incredible impact you have made on thousands of our neighbors in need. With your help, we: • Made healthy food and nutrition education accessible to many new people through our Healthy Choices Mobile Pantry. 1,134,853 • Increased the amount of fresh produce and helped families pounds of food distributed eat healthier through our Free Farmers Markets. • Engaged hundreds of new volunteers and advocates from our community through educational programs and hands-on opportunities. This was all made possible due to your support and compassion. 945,712 Thank you for your partnership and for making a difference! meals provided Sincerely, Rosemary Gilmartin, Executive Director 199,837 lbs. produce distributed 18,913 visits to or by the pantry The Interfaith Food Pantry is a community of neighbors helping neighbors committed to ending hunger and supporting self-sufficiency. Through our community partners we provide food, education and resources to inspire confidence and hope to Morris County families in need. 2 EMPOWERING PEOPLE Client Choice Program The IFP is a Client Choice Pantry. Visiting a food pantry can be a humbling experience for many. Having access to a variety of foods and the ability to select which foods one wants for their family not only makes the system equitable and reduces waste but empowers people to make their own decisions and restores integrity to the process of receiving much needed food. Our Client Choice program enabled 4,779 people to select from a variety of foods made available to them in 2017. Emergency Food Assistance Program 2,125 people received emergency food For many people in crisis, their first stop for help is the assistance from our two locations and Morris County Offices of Temporary Assistance in through food we supplied to the Morris Morristown and Dover. The IFP provides “Emergency County Office of Temporary Assistance. Bags” to visitors there, our two locations in Morris Plains and Morristown and a number of other community sites. Healthy Choices Program In 2017 we continued to increase the amount of fresh produce, low-sodium and low-sugar items we distributed and provided cooking demonstrations, budget friendly recipes and introduced clients to new healthier foods. We expanded our partnership with the Community Health Team at Morristown Medical Center through a monthly diabetes program with affected clients. The team, which included 90% of all clients who participated in our Healthy dieticians, nurses and IFP Healthy Choice staff Choices Cooking demonstrations reported eating provided screening and disease management healthier as a result. One hundred percent of the classes which helped clients learn how to control and improve their conditions through proper diabetes clinic participants reported changing diet, medication and exercise. At each session, their diet and exercise patterns during the participants were also treated to a healthy lunch program. and received a diabetes friendly selection of groceries to take home. “My whole family is eating healthier thanks to Katy and the nutrition program. We love the black bean brownie recipe. Since coming here I’ve lost weight and feel so much better!” -C.W. – IFP Client 3 ACCESSIBILITY Healthy Choices Mobile Pantry Our Healthy Choices Mobile Pantry was launched in January of 2017 thanks to a start-up grant from Impact 100 Garden State as well as additional funding from Hyde & Watson Foundation, L.P. Schenck Fund and The Jones Fund of Madison UMC. This allowed us to purchase a vehicle, add staff and increase spending on fresh produce. We were able to expand our reach by delivering the healthy food options that we offer clients who come to our pantries in Morris Plains and Morristown, to communities identified as in need of food assistance in further regions of Morris County. In its first year, the Healthy Choices Mobile Pantry had two main sub-programs: the IFP Pantry Partners program and the IFP The Healthy Choices Mobile Pantry Senior Food Box Program. Program distributed 56,172 pounds of food, accommodating more than 2,516 The IFP Pantry Partner Program works with smaller visits by families and seniors at our pantries run by towns, houses of worship or community Pantry Partner and Senior Food Box groups in these high need areas. We supplement the canned Program sites. and boxed goods offered through these programs with fresh produce and nutrition information. Periodically we provide staff to enroll clients or offer referral services. Through our Senior Box Program, we delivered 976 boxes of food Our Senior Food Box Program utilizes the Mobile Pantry to supplemented with fresh produce, deliver boxes of non-perishable food acquired from the reaching on average 87 low-income USDA via the Community Food Bank to seven different low- seniors each month. income senior housing units. Like the Pantry Partner Program, the boxes are supplemented with fresh produce, nutrition information and referral services. Home Delivery For our elderly or disabled clients who are homebound, we offer a home delivery program. Volunteers “shop” from pantry shelves for the clients based on their likes and dietary restrictions and deliver it to them. Many of the seniors form a friendship and bond with their volunteers, who become their advocates. Volunteers made an average of 96 visits each month to our home delivery clients. In total 57,496 pounds of food was delivered to 138 households in 2017. “I am just so grateful to have this fresh produce brought right to me. I no longer drive and could never get this on my own. Having the produce brought to my church is such a blessing!” -A.R., IFP Mobile Pantry Client 4 NUTRITION AND RESOUR CES Free Farmer’s Market Thanks to partnerships with the Community Food Bank, local farms, growers, food distributors and sponsors, we launched the IFP Free Farmers Markets in 2017. Offered twice per month at each location, clients can come during “special distribution sessions” for fresh food items, primarily produce and low-fat dairy that is either donated or purchased with funds we receive from foundation grants. 38,785 pounds of fresh produce and dairy items were distributed during 1,273 family visits to the IFP Free Farmers Market providing healthier food Working Families Access Program options to IFP clients. Offering evening and weekend hours at both of our locations ensures that working families More than 3,600 visits to the Pantry were made have access to the many programs that are during evening or Saturday hours in 2017. 19% of offered during the normal workday, including IFP clients received assistance through the Working the Self-Sufficiency Program, Free Farmers Families Access Program. Markets, Healthy Choices, We’ve Got Your Back and Thanksgiving Programs. Food Rescue Program IFP partners with supermarkets, growers and food manufacturers to “rescue” food that can no longer be sold but is still good for consumption. Our Food Rescue Program not only provides access to frozen meats, dairy, baked goods and prepared items for our clients but also contributes to a positive environment by eliminating waste and reducing the resulting greenhouse gases. Approximately 226,000 pounds of food was “rescued” in 2017, a 62% increase over the previous year. “My husband was laid off, and with three teenage boys at home it’s really hard to keep food in the house. But they love the food from the Farmers Market. Until we get back on our feet it’s just what we need!” - Tina, Free Farmers Market Client 5 PROGRAMS AND PARTNER S Thanksgiving and “We’ve Got Your Back” To help families make the holidays a little brighter, we provide turkeys and all the ingredients needed for a Thanksgiving meal to our clients in addition to fulfilling requests from other local agencies. We also offer our “We’ve Got Your Back” Program which helps families stretch their already limited budgets by providing students with new backpacks and the necessary supplies to head back to school in the Fall. We provided 1,650 families from IFP and other Morris County Agencies with food for the holidays in 2017. We also provided new backpacks and school supplies to more than 600 students. Other Agencies Served in 2017 We distributed an additional 46,000+ pounds of food to other local agencies including Mrs. Wilson’s Treatment Center, Family Justice Center (Jersey Battered Women’s Shelter), Neighborhood House, Table of Hope, Mt. Olive Food Pantry, Wharton Food Pantry, North Porch, Head Start and the Dover Public Library. Pantry and Resource Partner Agencies also included: St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center, who provided free pet food, New Jersey Natural Gas, who helped people apply for energy assistance, The Junior League of Morristown, who offered family cooking programs, Caring Capital who partnered with us by donating hand crafted gifts for our clients from corporate team-building events, and Atlantic Health, NJCEED, and Zufall Health Clinic who provided health, vision and dental screenings. Satellite Pantry Program Our satellite pantry at 190 Speedwell Avenue, Morristown ensures that the many people in town who lack transportation or rely on public transportation can access the same food and services available from our main resource center.

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