While the coronavirus crisis has up-ended many of our lives, it’s been toughest on our communities’ most vulnerable. Now, nonprofit Table to Table is partnering with Matriark Foods to help with the power of produce.
Table to Table is a “food rescue” program, collecting both prepared and perishable foods that would otherwise be discarded. The group delivers to over 200 soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and other services in the Garden State.
Table to Table is now joining hands with Matriark Foods, a nationwide group specializing in “upcycling” farm surplus. With a grant from food waste nonprofit ReFed, the pair aim to give neglected produce a second chance.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the challenges of accessibility and availability for much-needed fresh food…” said Ilene Isaacs, Executive Director of Table to Table. “We are thrilled for the opportunity to partner with such extraordinary organizations who will help us provide an alternative source of nutritious produce.”
Using their grant money, Matriark Foods is purchasing surplus vegetables from farmers and other vendors en masse. In addition to partners like AeroFarms and Bad Apple Produce, Table to Table is sourcing from some of its regular partners in the area.
The plan for all those veggies? Table to Table will distribute a special, nutritious stew to kitchens across Bergen, Essex, Passaic, and Hudson counties. In addition to creating 500,000 meals for New Jersey’s needy, the project will offset over 1,000,000 pounds of greenhouse gases.
Meanwhile, Matriark Foods hopes the project can raise public awareness about farm surplus and food waste. With so much perfectly good produce being dumped, what better way to re-purpose it than as nature intended?
To learn more about Table to Table and Matriark Foods, be sure to visit their websites.
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