WWO Toy Library at the Food Pantry of the Oranges: 1 in 4 American children live with food insecurity
On the last Wednesday of every month in Orange, New Jersey, there is a "free diaper handout" event at 105 Main Street at the Interfaith Food Pantry of the Oranges (IFPO). On Wednesday, Feb 24, the program team from Worldwide Orphans (WWO) visited with the volunteers and board members at the food pantry and provided mobile Toy Library for 10 children. There were 200 mothers and 150 received free diapers and most of the 40 children with their mothers, were infants. It was a monumental event for WWO. We arrived in Orange with our toy library situated in the children's library at the Orange Public Library in mid September and we are growing in our ability to serve the children of Orange.
WWO is part of the Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) Healthy New Jersey coalition and we have been at the RWJ meetings in February with community members who are eager to help Orange grow. We met Jodi Cooperman from the food pantry at one of the meetings and Jodi invited WWO to come to the food pantry to show the families all about our toy library. We are so grateful for the opportunity to become part of a very large and growing network of community-minded and caring local people in the Oranges so that we can serve the vulnerable and at-risk children and their families through our toy library.
From the IFPO website: http://orangesfoodpantry.org/
The Interfaith Food Pantry of the Oranges (IFPO) provides supplemental and emergency food to those in need who live in the cities of Orange and East Orange, New Jersey.
The pantry is housed in the Church of the Epiphany at 105 Main Street, Orange, NJ It is open on Wednesdays 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (except the first Wednesday of the month)
On average, IFPO serves 200 families per week, which adds up to 1,400 or more people per month. The pantry is a collaboration among Christ Church of Short Hills, Congregation Beth El, Congregation B'nai Jeshurun, and Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel and a member of MEND (Meeting Emergency Needs with Dignity).
IFPO had 7,500 pantry visits in 2015, assisting 23,442 people over the course of the year! Nearly 40% of the beneficiaries are children. Our Thanksgiving and Christmas distributions assisted a combined 900 families, and benefitted 3,000 people in just two days of operation.
IFPO works with volunteers from Orange and neighboring communities with at least 20 volunteers every Wednesday.
Board members:
Diane Stein (Congregation Beth El); Janet Schwamm (TSTI); Peggy Baggaley (Christ Church); Jodi Cooperman (TBJ); Kristin Sterling (TBJ); Cynthia Wyatt (TSTI)
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