Hunger during the Time of the Corona Crisis.
While the world and our country are facing the challenges of dealing with the COVID19 outbreak and all of its unforeseen consequences, service industries like healthcare, essential retail, and non-profits must step up to meet the new demands of people during the corona virus crisis. Both professionals and volunteers are working hard to serve and protect others, often while putting themselves in harm’s way.
As you know, Urban Food Alliance has been feeding the needy for over 2 years. The current health crisis has led to a spike in the demand for our services. Students who received reduced-cost or free meals at school must now rely on their parents to be able to feed them at home; hourly workers are unable to report to work and collect wages; the elderly may not feel safe venturing to the grocery store; some of those who have lost their jobs do not want to or cannot report to government agencies to request help.
Our philosophy at Urban Food Alliance is that nobody should go hungry, regardless of their status, race, or political or religious affiliations. We do not require our clients to provide us with personal information in order to determine whether or not they qualify for our services. If they report that they and/or their family members have difficulty putting food on the table, they deserve to receive our help. As a result, we are experiencing a rise in clients who may not be able to get help from other sources.
We need your help now more than ever!
While during normal times we reached out to volunteers and asked for help with packing and distribution of meals, we make every effort to keep both our volunteers and our clients as safe as possible. We have therefore ceased volunteer food preparations and made other adjustments with the restaurants that are working with us in our efforts to feed the hungry.
How can you help?
1. Monetary donations will help us keep our program strong in this time of crisis. Please donate as generously as you can via our website! We accept both one-time and recurring donations.
2. Those in the Central Jersey area can drop off non-perishable food at Khan Baba Restaurant located on Rt. 27 in Franklin Park between the hours of 10 am 8 pm.
3. Spread the news about our cause among your social media contacts to help us reach a wider audience of donors and volunteers or needy one.
4. Volunteer from home if you have the skills to help us. We welcome people who can help us with administrative work, outreach efforts, etc. You can email us at contactus@urbanfoodalliance.org
Any crisis has the potential to bring our either the best or the worst in people. At this time, it is important that we stand united and help those who are most vulnerable. Please help us in our efforts to do just that. Stay safe, stay healthy, and do everything you can to help the community at large weather the storm together.