_________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Electronic Press Kit ____________________________________________________________________________ MEDIA CONTACT Dan Knitzer SoupKitchen411 162 Broad Street Hightstown, NJ, 08520 Phone: 973-978-3956 [email protected] ____________________________________________________________ ABOUT FEEDNJ & SOUPKITCHEN411 ____________________________________________________________ Recognizing the sheer volume of food insecurity in America, Ken DeRoberts and Phillip Gentile established SoupKitchen411 in 2015 as a non-profit to raise awareness about the epidemic of hunger, and a hub for advocates to donate their time, talent and treasure. The organization developed a database of soup kitchens and other places where free meals are regularly served, utilizing interactive maps to provide detailed information about 250+ tri-state area, and over 800 national soup kitchens and food pantries, including phone numbers, addresses, email addresses, and types of meal services offered. Food insecurity in New Jersey communities has always been an issue, but the COVID-19 pandemic raised the number of people experiencing food insecurity to numbers not seen in the modern era. Recognizing the need to act, New Jersey State Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Port Authority of NY/NJ Chairman Kevin O’Toole agreed to Ch-Chair the FeedNJ initiative in April 2020 to curb pandemic related food insecurity while stimulating local economies and keeping struggling restaurants afloat. The campaign’s slogan has become “Save a Restaurant, Feed a Community,” and since the campaign’s kickoff in April, has served nearly 40,000 restaurant-purchased meals to dozens of soup kitchens across the state. The unique mission of the FeedNJ initiative recognizes the need to support restaurants in a time where all small businesses–but especially restaurants–are struggling to stay in business due to COVID-19 ​ ​ ​ ​ mandated closures. FeedNJ provides steady income to local small businesses and economies. Additionally, this relieves some of the intense burden faced by soup kitchens to feed growing numbers of patrons without the funding needed to expand their staff, or physical space available. SoupKitchen411 and FeedNJ have pledged to ensure that all communities across the state are well-fed, without preference on the basis of race, sex, gender, religion age or culture. We want to ensure that soup kitchens have the support they need to serve their communities, as well as support local restaurant businesses, which drive our economy, as they combat increased regulation and the typical declines in restaurant patronage that have always accompanied recessions. FeedNJ and its partners feed anyone who needs a free meal, no matter their racial or ethnic background, their age, their gender or sexuality, or their culture. By providing meals to those in need, FeedNJ ensures that no individual goes hungry. This helps to sustain communities and creates new bonds between the local soup kitchens, residents and area restaurants. FeedNJ also has a diverse group of restaurant partners, many of which are minority and women-owned. Food insecurity does not ​ discriminate, and neither does FeedNJ. ____________________________________________________________ FEED NJ LEADERSHIP ____________________________________________________________ The Honorable Craig J. Coughlin, Co-Chairman Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly. Mr. Coughlin received a B.S. ​ ​ degree from St. John's University and a J.D. degree from St. John's University School of Law. He served on the South Amboy Board of Education from 1983 to 1987. In 1987 he was elected to the South Amboy City Council, serving until 1993. He worked as an attorney before serving as a municipal court judge for Edison Township in 2005. He has served in the State Assembly since 2010, serving as Speaker of the Assembly since 2018. He is a partner at the law firm Rainone-Coughlin-Minchello. He founded the Charity Bowl for Hunger which for over 10 years has raised money to combat food insecurity. The Honorable Kevin O’Toole, Co-Chair Chairman of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. Mr. O'Toole has ​ had a long and distinguished career in public service at the local and state level in New Jersey. He served on the Cedar Grove Town Council from 1989 to 1996 and as Mayor in 1990, 1993 and 1995. He was first elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 1995 and served until May 2001. He then served in the State Senate from May 2001 until January 2002. Kevin was elected again to the General Assembly in 2001 and re-elected twice. He was elected to the State Senate in 2007 and re-elected in 2011 and 2013. Kevin retired as a State Senator on July 1, 2017 to begin his term as a Commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. “Hunger is not a partisan issue. Our purchasing of meals in bulk provides a supplemental form of ​ business to small, mostly-family-owned restaurants in our local communities. This allows more employees to return to work, for restaurants to pay and continue providing healthcare to workers and to have a greater safety net. Just as importantly, delivering quality meals to soup kitchens ensures that the soup kitchen staff has a day to catch up, rest, and prepare to serve their guests for the other days of the week.” ​ –New Jersey Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole ____________________________________________________________ STATISTICS AND INFORMATION ____________________________________________________________ ● In 2018, 9% of New Jersey Residents struggled with Food Insecurity ​ ​ ○ COVID-19 has the potential to double that number globally ​ ● Nationwide, 1 in 6 restaurants shut down because of the pandemic ​ ​ ● In New Jersey, 36% of restaurants have been forced to shut down ​ ​ ● FeedNJ has partnered so far with more than 80 New Jersey owned and operated restaurants ● FeedNJ has also partnered with over 25 incredible food distribution programs and social-service ​ ​ centers in 13 counties, and plans to expand to more counties in 2021 ​ ​ ● From April 2020 through December 2020, SoupKitchen411 and FeedNJ have served 33,305 ​ meals state-wide and plans to serve more than 150,000 in 2021 Funding for the purchasing of meals and programmatic operations comes from philanthropic grants through private foundations and government agencies, New Jersey businesses and individuals. Because FeedNJ has only three part time staff members, over 94% of the funding raised goes directly towards programming efforts. In addition to regularly scheduled meal services, in August, FeedNJ launched #FeedingFriday, a large day ​ ​ of action one Friday each month, where a minimum of three meal services take place across the state. The August, September, October and December #FeedingFriday each eclipsed 1,500 meals day. ____________________________________________________________ TESTIMONIALS ____________________________________________________________ "Having programs like FeedNJ that really are looking out for the little guy gives me hope! You have to experience the gratitude that comes with serving meals to people in need." –Fran Schults, Owner of Bacon Beach Grille, Long Branch ​ "With this great movement here at Eva's Village, through FeedNJ, there's a feeling of surpassing pride. We don't want to see anybody left behind. We don't want to see anybody hungry, we can't feed everyone, but we're just trying to do our part. It's very gratifying to us. I appreciate it." –Shane Gerald, Owner, Fast Break Cafe, Paterson ​ “Business has been very tough during this pandemic, and having a program like FeedNJ that will not only pay for meals, enabling me to retain my employees, but also donate those meals to people in our community who need them the most, is a really special thing. I’m so glad this program exists.” –John Mastroianni, Owner of Zizza’s Deli, Florham Park ​ ​ ​ “When people come here for food, and they see meals from their favorite restaurants, or restaurants ​ they know of, it makes them feel special." –Chef Dave Bein, Kitchen Director at Eva's Village ​ “I and my family are thankful for the Feed NJ program. This program is helping not only our residents but also supporting our local restaurants. We are honored to play a small part of this effort.” –Harry Pozycki, Esq, founder/current chairman of the Citizens Campaign, Perth Amboy ​ “With so many people facing financial hardship due to the Novel coronavirus outbreak, we have increased our investment in community-based organizations that battle food insecurity, and found FeedNJ’s work to be among the best, anywhere. We appreciate FeedNJ’s unique approach of activating local restaurants to prepare quality meals for residents in need.” –Braxton Plummer, Verizon’s New Jersey Director of State and Local Affairs “This Anti-Hunger Initiative is a wonderful opportunity for our company and others who have a commitment to support local community needs during this challenging time. We are proud and excited to be a part of the ongoing work of FeedNJ.” –Nancy Sadlon, Manager of Public Affairs, Phillips 66 Bayway Refinery in Linden, NJ “I’ve seen firsthand the wonderful work FeedNJ is doing to combat hunger and food insecurity in Monmouth County. They’ve already served 30,000 meals, and I’m confident they will continue to build on that success. Thank you to everyone who has donated their time and resources to help New