12-21-2022 10:39am

Meals from Local Restaurants to Feed Hungry Families Over the Holidays

$57.5M Sustain & Serve NJ program grantees buy meals from local restaurants to feed families over the holidays.

An additional $5 million in state funding will go towards the Sustain & Serve NJ program, providing nonprofits with grants to purchase meals from New Jersey restaurants negatively impacted by COVID-19 and distribute those meals to the hungry at no cost.

Sustain & Serve NJ was launched during the pandemic as a $2 million pilot program to support restaurants impacted by the shutdowns and combat rising food insecurity. Since its launch, the Sustain & Serve NJ has grown into a $57.5 million program that has supported the purchase of four million meals from over 400 restaurants in all 21 counties in New Jersey.

“Sustain & Serve NJ grantees are working extra hard this holiday season to feed their neighbors and support their communities,” said NJEDA Chief Executive Officer Tim Sullivan. “Governor Murphy has championed Sustain & Serve NJ since the beginning, and we are grateful to him and the Legislature for continuing to provide the resources we need to combat hunger every day of the year while supporting local restaurants throughout the Garden State.”

The NJ Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) is putting forth a multipronged effort to eliminate food deserts within New Jersey and bolster the childcare sector, an industry that suffered severely during the pandemic. The NJDEA is also working with partners to create a Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Center in Trenton as part of First Lady Tammy Murphy’s Nurture NJ initiative to make New Jersey the safest and most equitable place to give birth in the country.

“Sustain & Serve NJ has the ability to transform lives – both by bolstering the restaurant industry and bringing nourishment to New Jerseyans in a respectful and dignified manner.” said NJEDA Executive Vice President of Economic Security Tara Colton.

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