• The New Brunswick Community Farmers Market, launched in July on the Cook Campus, provides a convenient source of locally grown, fresh produce for residents of the diverse 2nd ward neighborhood. Supported by a grant from Johnson & Johnson, the market is operated by the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and aims to encourage healthy eating by providing culturally appropriate fruits and vegetables along with nutrition education and community programming offered by Rutgers faculty and students. The market will reopen this spring.
• In October, Rutgers hosted the World Food Day Forum sponsored by the N.J. Higher Education Service Learning Consortium for the “Learning to End Hunger Campaign.” The campaign supports the efforts of the N.J. Anti-Hunger Coalition to end childhood hunger and aims to involve more students in developing community partnerships.
• Four AmeriCorps volunteers, all Rutgers graduates, are doing their service through Rutgers’ Civic Engagement and Service Education Partnerships Program (CESEP). Three are devoted to the “Learning to End Hunger” initiative. Two are developing a model for students to prescreen clients for eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. At a recent event at the Greater Brunswick Charter School, they found nine families eligible for SNAP aid. Another AmeriCorps volunteer works with farm-to-school initiatives and community gardening programs, all related to increasing the consumption of healthful fruits and vegetables.
• The Department of Family and Community Health Sciences in the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) anticipates expanding its work on the Farm-to-School initiative in four counties. Researchers would like to develop healthful products from locally grown produce that can be used by school lunch programs, according to department chair Kathleen Morgan. They are exploring ways to partner with Rutgers’ Food Innovation Center on preparing and packaging produce so it can be available year-round.
• William Sciarappa, assistant professor in the Department of Agriculture and Resource Management Agents for NJAES, is part of a USDA grant team studying which greens and herbs are favored by certain ethnic groups for culinary, nutritional and medicinal properties. The Rutgers research group has surveyed Latino and Asian ethnic groups in the east coast region to determine the types of produce they prefer and then have worked with farmers on cultivation and marketing. According to Sciarappa, the health of new immigrants can be adversely affected when they substantially change their diets. This research program has helped open up new markets for New Jersey farmers.
• During the Fall 2009 semester, 47 nutritional science students in Peggy Policastro’s “Nutrition Counseling and Communication” class presented education programs and materials in English and Spanish to 2,300 low-resource clients at food pantries and community centers. The group will conduct a “nutrition fair” at Elijah’s Promise soup kitchen Dec. 3.
• RAH continues to support the food pantry it helped to establish at the Greater Brunswick Charter School in New Brunswick with regular donations of food. The school identified 33 families for assistance through RAH’s Adopt-a-Family campaign.
• Corporations also have assisted with RAH’s efforts. Last summer, 11 Verizon locations in New York and New Jersey held RAH food drives, while local businesses often offer to help with RAH projects.
• The Rutgers University Bookstores, operated by Barnes and Noble College Booksellers, partnered with RAH at the start of the academic year on a two-week donation drive that raised $2,000 for New Jersey food banks, food pantries and other organizations.
• Rutgers-Camden’s Fall Fest in October collected food for the FoodBank of South Jersey.
• On Nov. 19, the Camden Campus will host a “Thanksgiving From the Heart” dinner for 100 guests from area shelters in cooperation with the Foodbank of SouthJersey and Sodex. Rutgers student volunteers will welcome guests and serve dinner.
• The Rutgers-Camden campus will again participate in “Camden Angels,” a citywide effort by organizations, agencies and individuals that come together to donate gifts, money and gift certificates to those in need in Camden.
• Food collections at two recent Rutgers football home games netted 3,500 pounds of food, benefiting the Salvation Army and the Flemington Area Food Pantry.
• RAH continues to assist small food pantries and area food banks across the state, including the Community FoodBank of New Jersey in Hillside, MCFOODS of Middlesex County, Mercer Street Friends in Trenton, Elijah’s Promise in New Brunswick, the Greater Brunswick Charter School in New Brunswick, and the FoodBank of South Jersey. RAH also has provided emergency donations to the Flemington Food Bank and Apostle House in Newark.
• RAH facilitated the donation of six refurbished computers to Mercer Street Friends.
• Rutgers students again are baking apple pies under the supervision of Dining Services bakers on Nov. 22 for the Great University Bake Sale. Proceeds will benefit MCFOODS.
• Residence Life has incorporated food and toy donation drives into many student events; It also sponsored the third annual Scarlet Day of Service, attracting more than 300 volunteers. In December, nonperishable food items will be collected in residence halls prior to winter break.
• The NJPIRG student organization sponsored Hunger and Homelessness Week, Nov. 13-20, which aims to raise awareness about these problems. Through the annual “Hunger Cleanup” event last April, the group raised $7,000, half of which was donated to Elijah’s Promise, and half to programs aiding the people of Darfur.
• On the Rutgers-Newark campus, student organizations including Latinos United Networking America, Alpha Phi Sigma, NJPIRG and the Executive MBA Program have organized food drives and volunteer efforts on behalf of La Casa de Don Pedro and Apostles’ House in Newark.
• In October, the Urban Leadership and Service Learning Initiative hosted Rutgers-Newark’s Make a Difference Day, sending dozens of students to local organizations that serve the poor to sort food or perform other services.
Media Contact: Sandra Lanman
732-932-7084, ext. 621
E-mail: slanman@ur.rutgers.edu