Food, Supply Distribution At County College Of Morris Saturday

RANDOLPH, NJ – Table of Hope, with the support of local officials and other organizations serving Morris County, will be holding another food distribution event at County College of Morris (CCM) on Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Parking Lot 1 on the CCM campus.

Along with distributing food, backpacks with school supplies will be available for children to help them start their year off strong. All Morris County residents are welcome to come for the distribution. Visitors are asked to use the college’s Dover Chester Road entrance.
Face coverings are required for everyone who comes to campus.

The distribution will provide individuals and families with fresh produce, meat, dairy, canned goods and other groceries. It will operate as a contactless drive-through event with cars stopping at different food stations categorized by food type where volunteers will place bags or boxes into automobile trunks. There also will be a station to distribute backpacks with school supplies. CCM hosted a similar event for Table of Hope this past June.

Serving as volunteers and welcoming speakers at that event were New Jersey First Lady Tammy Snyder Murphy, Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, State Senator Anthony M. Bucco, and Freeholders John Krickus and Steve Shaw.

"The great work being done by Table of Hope and other food pantries in Morris County has been exemplary,” said Morris County Freeholder Kathy DeFillippo, liaison to the county’s Human Services agencies. “Without their dedication, many people in our county, who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19, would be hard-pressed to feed their families. We strongly back their efforts."

Shortly after COVID-19 struck, Rev. Dr. Sidney Williams, pastor of Bethel Church of Morristown, converted the Table of Hope bus that was used to pick up food so it could be utilized for mobile food distribution. Williams is the founder of the Spring Street Community Development Corporation that operates Table of Hope and other programs to improve the lives of individuals and families in Morris County.

“We are delighted to partner with CCM so that we can reach a greater number of Morris County residents,” said Williams.

Assisting Table of Hope with this latest distribution are Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon, a CCM graduate, the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders and approximately 40 volunteers, including numerous CCM employees and students. Serving as sponsors are the Morris County Chamber of Commerce, Morris Habitat for Humanity, the Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey, Market Street Mission, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. Pi Theta Omega Chapter, Valley Bank and Alstede Farms.

“Morris County is blessed to have folks who don’t hesitate to pull together when others are in need, during this time as the COVID-19 pandemic lingers,” said Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon.

In March, Table of Hope began operating weekly mobile food distribution programs in Morristown, Parsippany and Dover, along with additional grocery supply events in other Morris County communities. Prior to COVID-19, its pantry in Morristown served about 65 people weekly. The number now being served each week at each mobile distribution event averages 500 to 600, reports Teresa Williams, executive director of the Spring Street Community Development Center. To date, more than 18,500 individuals and families have been helped and over 899,300 pounds of food has been distributed.

Table of Hope also operates a soup kitchen that during the pandemic has continued to provide dinners as a take-out service. Table of Hope receives food from the Community Food Bank of New Jersey in Hillside, local farms and food service companies. To volunteer or make a donation, visit the Spring Street CDC website at https://springstreetcdc.org/.
Along with Table of Hope, numerous other services are available to assist residents in Morris County's 39 municipalities who are in need of food. A list of available food services, including food pantries, volunteer shopper organizations, meal delivery services and take-out meal services, can be found at https://hs.morriscountynj.gov/food-services/.

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