Susan Coracurcio, CEO and executive director of the Franciscan Community Development Center in Fairview, has seen a drastic increase in traffic in the food pantry – from serving 300 people a month to 170 on day. The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated her community’s most vulnerable residents, with food insecurity doubling this past year.
Many food pantries in the Bergen County area have now teamed up with a new Food Security Task Force, which launched in July to combat the current hunger crisis COVID-19 has worsened. The new task force seeks to connect organizations in a collaborative effort to fight food insecurity within the county.
Collaborators of this effort include nonprofit organizations like Greater Bergen Community Action and Family Promise, food pantries, members of Bergen County’s Meals on Wheels program, and the interim superintendent of schools for Bergen County, Louis DeLisio.
Food insecurity can stem from issues such as lack of affordable child care or untreated mental illness. The task force is aiming to focus on both providing meals to those in need but also addressing the causes of food insecurity.
Bergen FYI 