On April 15, the crew from Two Men and a Truck of Moorestown delivered 14 pallets of ham from Philabundance to 3 distribution sites operated by Touch New Jersey Food Alliance. The massive donation could not have come at a better time, because food banks across the country are struggling to keep up with the economic and social disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Touch NJ is an all-volunteer food pantry which serves Camden County and the surrounding communities. Two Men and a Truck made deliveries in Philadelphia, Marlton, and Touch NJ's headquarters in Camden. Since none of the sites had loading docks, Two Men and a Truck generously offered to rent a truck with a lift gate. After the ham was loaded off the truck, it was immediately distributed to people who are facing hunger at all 3 locations.
The Touch New Jersey pantry is normally open every Wednesday to allow low-income, elderly, and disabled residents to “shop” for fresh and pantry grocery items. Emergency food providers across the United States are seeing a surge of people in need of assistance and Gerald Davis, TOUCH NJ's Executive Director, said his pantry was no exception.
“The increase in demand for food for the needy has risen exponentially, which is consistent with the negative impact that the pandemic has inflicted on everyone, but most especially to those lacking resources, jobs, and skills,” Davis said.
Huge donations like this one can often be difficult for smaller food pantries to accommodate. Davis said that TOUCH NJ's existing infrastructure has enabled his pantry to continue to provide for his community, even in the face of this historic crisis.
“TOUCH has been fortunate in our ability to have the facility, labor, and system to be able to accept large surplus deliveries from our partners," he said. "We have thrived during this difficult time because we are the go-to source when our partners need to offload large quantities of food.”
For anyone in the region who needs food, Davis suggested they check TOUCH NJ's social media channels regularly for updates and additional food distribution opportunities. Although he has been able meet the demand thus far, Davis admitted that it has been a struggle.
“Quite frankly, we have been stretched financially to meet obligations for extra labor, food transportation, and debris removal. We need additional funding.”
More than 60,000 people, including 1 in 7 children, in Camden County were food insecure before COVID-19. With those numbers on the rise, we are so grateful to work with companies like Two Men and a Truck, who are doing what they can to help support their local food banks.
The COVID-19 Pandemic has left a massive economic impact and has drastically increase the need for emergency food assistance nationwide. Move For Hunger is actively searching for ways to meet the demand, but we're going to need your help.
