More than 350 people came together in Whippany, New Jersey, on Thursday for the annual Women Fighting Hunger Luncheon to benefit the Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ).
New Jersey’s largest anti-hunger organization, CFBNJ services 15 counties in helping more than 750,000 people with food insecurity.
NBC 4 New York Anchor Natalie Pasquarella moderated a discussion on how to tackle hunger with keynote speaker Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, the CEO of Feeding America and Elizabeth McCarthy, President and CEO of CFBNJ.
“I think sometimes people misunderstand SNAP and don’t know that 82% of households who are getting SNAP have a working adult in the household,” says McCarthy. “It’s just really hard with prices going up and wages staying flat for people to make it paycheck to paycheck. Almost half the people on SNAP are children.”
More than 350 people came together for the Women Fighting Hunger luncheon in Whippany. NBC New York’s Natalie Pasquarella moderated a discussion with local advocates and Feeding America’s CEO, who has called SNAP cuts a “crisis situation” for local families, adding that one in nine New Jersey residents are food insecure.
Babineaux-Fontenot, head of the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, told NBC New York that this is a crisis situation and people can take action in their communities.
“The reality is that this could truly be cataclysmic for this whole state and the nation,” said Babineaux-Fontenot. “They should reach out to their members of Congress and tell them, this issue matters. It’s not something we should play around with. It’s not a bargaining chip. Let’s make sure that everyone in your community gets the food that they need.”
Prior to the luncheon, guests packed donation bags full of non-perishable items which will be distributed across New Jersey.
To learn more about CFBNJ, click here. To learn more about Feeding America, click here.