The spacious food pantry housed at the Board of Social Services in Newton
supplies emergency food for individuals and families all year long. Lately, the program has also been providing
food for children enrolled in the Project Launch Newton afterschool program during
the week, and offering backpacks brimming with nutritious food for 1,500 children
in Newton and Hopatcong over the weekend. The agency was alerted to the students’ need
by Project Sussex Kids, the Sussex County Council for Young Children, whose goal
is to bring parents and professionals together to collaborate in service to
local families. Providing the food to
the students is in keeping with the food pantry’s mission, according to Carol
Novrit, Director of Social Services in Sussex County. “We are feeding children. What in the world could be more important?”
Project Launch Newton is a free afterschool enrichment program conducted
by Project Self-Sufficiency in the Merriam Avenue and Halsted Middle Schools
for children in grades 4 – 8. Students receive
homework help and a healthy snack, and then participate in a variety of
activities centered on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) themes. The grant-funded program did not allocate
monies for providing a snack for the children enrolled in the program, despite
the fact that the program specifically focuses on nutrition as a core component
of the curriculum and allows for time to consume food as part of the afternoon
schedule. Consequently, thousands of
dollars were being spent to feed the students, all of whom had been at school
since the beginning of the day. 
“We are exceptionally grateful to Carol Novrit and all of the volunteers
at the Board of Social Services who work diligently to provide nutritious food
for the children enrolled in the Project Launch Newton after school program,”
commented Deborah Berry-Toon, Executive Director of Project Self-Sufficiency,
the non-profit agency which administers the program in the Newton School
District.
The food pantry at the Board of Social Services resides in space donated
by the Sussex County Board of Chosen Freeholders, and is staffed entirely by
volunteers. Along with a cadre of habitual
volunteers, Rita Oroho regularly stops by the pantry to stock shelves, stuff
grocery bags with food for patrons, and assemble the weekend bags for the
students. The food pantry is in constant
need of donations, and could also use more volunteers. “This is a ‘low time, high impact’ kind of
service,” notes Oroho, citing the ease of the work and the impact on those who
receive the food each week. “We try to
do as much as we can for everybody.”
Novrit commends the staff at Project Sussex Kids for alerting the Board
of Social Services to the plight of those students who now cart home food in
their backpacks each Friday. “We’re
feeding many of the children enrolled in the Project Launch Newton program, as
well as those kids who receive free or reduced lunch in the Newton and
Hopatcong school districts.” The bags
contain items like granola bars, as well as food which can be easily prepared,
such as cereal and macaroni and cheese.
“Our volunteers work tirelessly to put these bags together because it’s
important for them to make sure that these kids have something to eat.” Novrit adds that the bags contain enough food
to sustain one child over the weekend, and is often packed with a little extra,
since many of the children report that they share the food with their siblings
and other family members. “It’s better
than having the kids come back to school hungry on Monday morning.” The agency
is looking to expand the reach of the food pantry into other municipalities and
school districts in the coming months.
“Our mission is to feed people.
Right now this pantry helps people all over the county, but people can’t
always come into Newton when they need food.”
The food pantry at the Board of Social Services is located at 83 Spring
Street in Newton. Information about
Project Sussex Kids, the Sussex County Council for Young Children, can be found
at www.projectsussexkids.org. Project Launch Newton is funded with federal
Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Title IV, Part B, 21st Century
Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) grant funds through a grant agreement
with the New Jersey Department of Education.
For information about Project Launch Newton, call Project
Self-Sufficiency at 973-940-3500 or at 844-807-3500, or visit the program’s
website, www.projectlaunchnewton.org.
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