New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate

Community-facing teams know their neighbors and partners well, and the forthcoming statewide Food Insecurity Index is a tool that formalizes their local expertise. Join the New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate and Trenton Health Team on Thursday, April 17 at 11 a.m. for a virtual preview and feedback session for the Statewide Food Insecurity Index ahead of its public release this summer! RSVP: https://lnkd.in/egAXbgub Details: Building on the success of the Tri-County Food Insecurity Index, the New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate (OFSA) has continued its engagement with the Trenton Health Team (THT) to create a statewide version. Organizations such as food banks, food pantries, and health providers are already using the current version of the index to make data-driven decisions about how best to meet local community food needs. The Statewide Food Insecurity Index, slated for a Summer 2025 release, will put a valuable, hyper-local tool about food insecurity in the hands of decision-makers in each of New Jersey’s 21 counties. The new version will also enhance functionality and a more streamlined user experience. Trenton Health Team and OFSA are hosting a virtual feedback session to gather feedback on the index and its usability. Save your spot for the session here: https://lnkd.in/egAXbgub Matthew Broad, MPH Em Ostrowski Jenny Schrum, PhD

**EXTENDED DUE DATE** Our NJDA colleagues have extended the application window for this #FundingOpportunity. Proposals are now being accepted through May 10 at 5 p.m. ET. Community organizations, coalitions and partnerships doing food security work should take a look.

👉🏿Funding Opportunity Closing Soon - LESS THAN ONE WEEK LEFT to Apply for Up to $40K from the NJ Department of Agriculture (NJDA)! 👈🏿 The NJDA is still accepting applications for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, which for the purpose of this program, defines "specialty crops" as fruits, vegetables, nuts, honey, herbs, potatoes, sweet corn and more! Here are three components of the program that excite our OFSA team the most: 🌽1. Applications for grant funds should describe how the project potentially affects and produces measurable outcomes for the PUBLIC and/or the specialty crop industry, rather than a single organization, institution, or individual. To strengthen the competitiveness of your application, single organizations, institutions, and individuals are encouraged to participate and apply as project partners. 🌽2. The NJDA encourages applications that benefit smaller farms and new beginning farmers, underserved producers, veteran producers, and/or underserved COMMUNITIES. For projects intending to serve these entities, applicants should engage and involve those beneficiaries when developing projects and applications. 🌽3. Eligible project activities include: + Increasing child and adult nutrition knowledge and consumption of specialty crops + Improving efficiency and reducing costs of distribution systems This is an opportunity to secure funding to bring your collaborative efforts and innovative ideas to life. Applications Due: April 10, 2025 Learn More & Apply: https://lnkd.in/edKGBDWS Don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity to grow and innovate! #NJAg #SpecialtyCrops #GrantOpportunity #Farmers #Innovation #FoodSecurityForAll #NourishingFood

Applications for our $30 million Food Equity and Economic Development in NJ (FEED NJ) program close this Thursday, April 3rd! We'll be making grants of up to $500K for catalytic projects in Food Desert Communities throughout New Jersey. Hugely grateful for the New Jersey Economic Development Authority Food Security dream team (Rucha Gadre, Brian Todd, Riley Edwards and Ty Blitstein) as we roll out this innovative program which will have a significant impact on food security and food access throughout the Garden State. Food security = economic security = economic development.

The Child Tax Credit and the Summer EBT nutrition program for eligible students exist to help working families catch their breath. Plus, the introduction of the combined "2024-2025 School Meals and Summer EBT" application means families can save time in seeing if their children are eligible. The School Meals and Summer EBT application is available through your child's school, and applying is fast, easy and secure. To learn more about how the Summer EBT nutrition program works for children who lose access to free school meals during summer break, visit the NJ Summer EBT website: https://lnkd.in/evVJ7Uwc

How will you start your weekend? If you're planning to attend the Emergent Issues in Local Food Security discussion later this afternoon at Princeton University, look for Jenny Schrum, PhD, who will be there representing New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate alongside these valued and trusted partners in food security and health equity work: Isles, Inc., Rise, Princeton Mobile Food Pantry, Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK) and others. The gathering is co-sponsored by the Princeton Food Project, SPIA in New Jersey, the Food Justice Service Focus Cohort, and the Program for Community-Engaged Scholarship (ProCES). We thank them for the invitation to participate in this discussion. Details: https://lnkd.in/eHAEqgZ3 Leslie Koppel Shilpa Pai Ana Paola Pazmino

The power of community remains undefeated. Snaps and claps to the Atlantic City community for tapping into technology to link area farmers with local residents and make it easier for SNAP participants to buy food, and being the first community in our state to bring this concept to reality! We also shoutout our colleagues at New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) for their grant funding that accelerated this work! Alicia Newcomb Karyn Moskowitz Rucha Gadre

Shout out to our friends from the New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate for visiting the Food Farmacy in Camden today! We loved having you onsite and sharing Virtua Health’s perspective on food as medicine. Grateful for the opportunity to share this space with you! #hereforgood #foodchangeslives

A message from OFSA Executive Director Mark Dinglasan, MBA

💻Just Announced! On Monday, March 31 at 1pm ET, a Know Your Civil Rights webinar will be held, co-presented by New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate and the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights. Food pantry teams, community kitchen teams and their community partners are invited to join this webinar focusing on civil rights and discrimination. ➡️➡️Register by March 28: https://lnkd.in/eQxC-f7M Emergency food providers across our state have described how neighbors come in and ask for help beyond food. Based on the realities of their day-to-day work and that some, if not all, emergency food providers have relevant information posted in their facilities, this webinar can help those team members educate each other and answer neighbors' questions. Please register by March 28: https://lnkd.in/eQxC-f7M New Jersey Attorney General's Office