Foundation to Hold 'Improving Food Security Through Gardening'

The Northern New Jersey Community Foundation (NNJCF) will hold the webinar, Improving Food Security Through Gardening, on Wednesday, June 30 at 6:00 p.m. The public will learn what they can do personally in their own gardens, locally, and regionally to address food insecurity. The event is free and open to the public. Register for this online event.

Food Security: A Serious Issue

The COVID-19 pandemic brought attention to a serious problem facing the region for some time: food security. According to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, food insecurity grew more than than 50% and increased more than 75% for children in the Garden State. People turned to gardening and growing their own food. This also highlighted another problem -- food waste. According to Ample Harvest, home gardeners waste up to 11 billion pounds of food each year.

How can individuals and communities leverage gardening to improve food security, while building closed loop food systems? A panel of regional experts in New Jersey will present their findings in the NNJCF's webinar. Moderator Mary Blanusa, executive director of the NNJCF, will lead a question and answer session after the panel discussion.

Meet the Panel

This panel of experts will share their insights:

• Bergen County Commissioner Tracy Zur. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bergen County Food Security Task Force was established to coordinate food collection and distribution efforts countywide and to connect growers with pantries to address the need for food.
• Tobias Fox, Newark Science and Sustainability – Community drive solutions can be accomplished through community gardening and sponsored Community Supported Agriculture shares.

• Melanie McDermott, Sustainable Jersey – Sustainable Jersey Actions for Green Teams – Communities can expand gardening, improve food security and get Sustainable Jersey points.
• Chantelle Walker, Greens Do Good – Year round access to fresh produce can be achieved through vertical farming, while providing skills training and jobs to adults with autism.
• Gary Oppenheimer, AmpleHarvest.org – Connect gardeners and food pantries to eliminate food waste and improve food security.

Environment Focus Area

The webinar is presented by the NNJCF's environment focus area. The NNJCF works with regional municipalities to encourage and facilitate their subscribing to the certification program conducted by Sustainable Jersey. The Foundation is organizing a collaborative initiative comprising academic institutions, corporations, environmental organizations, and media groups to identify, research, and implement regional projects to increase climate change resilience, while raising public and business awareness of the threats of global warming.

For further information about the webinar or the NNJCF's work, visit the organization's website, send an email, or call (201) 568-5608.