Bergen Seeks To Turn This Food Desert Town To 'Oasis' With New Pantry

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Several local partners are helping turn this Bergen borough from a food desert to a purported oasis, with the opening of a newly renovated pantry, the director of the pantry's lead organization said.

Made possible by a partnership between local entities, the Franciscan Community Development Center's food pantry was rebuilt and reimagined from the ground up, and officially reopened Wednesday in Fairview, officials said in a release.

“The work that everyone has put in here lives up to the code of St. Francis: we did what was necessary and what was possible – in order to make the impossible happen," the nonprofit's director Su Colacurcio said.

Franciscan's pantry, which serves nearly 800 families and 4,000 individuals every month, will continue to meet the needs of the community through what is now a newly renovated, choice-style food pantry, officials said.

The client choice model is the first of its kind in Fairview, which — according to a 2022 list compiled by the state — is one of 50 New Jersey towns considered a "food desert," in part for its low score in access to healthy foods.

FCDC unveiled a pantry space that would allow for client choice, and include a new walk-in refrigerator and freezer, a redesigned loading and receiving area, and a new ADA-compliant entrance and bathroom.

The new space, at 239 Anderson Avenue, will also allow the FCDC to convert the temporary pantry space on church grounds — used throughout the renovation — to help provide additional services and programs for clients. Demolition and renovation of the pantry space began in October 2022.

"Even as the floors of their building caved, the resolve of Su Colacurcio, and (others), to serve the residents of Fairview with dignity, respect, and love, did not," Bergen County Commissioner Tracy Zur said that the time.

"The church, nonprofit community, government at all levels, the private sector and dozens of volunteers came together to launch a new chapter for the home of the food pantry," Zur said.

In a just-released statement, Zur said the renovation, which "exemplified collaboration," will enable an even greater abundance of food to be distributed.

"(These local partners) will be changing health outcomes and changing lives," she added.

In fact, funds provided by the Bergen County Food Security Task Force and the Archdiocese of Newark, and the volunteer efforts of Habitat for Humanity and others, have helped expand the efforts of one of the critical food pantry, officials said.

FCDC was one of 37 organizations to receive a Food Security Task Force grant in a late 2022 award cycle to support infrastructure improvements, officials said in a report.

“Know that Bergen County remains steadfast in our commitment to support our emergency food providers as we work towards ending hunger in (the) county once and for all," Tedesco said.

“The Franciscan Community Development Center is a community lifeline for thousands of residents in eastern Bergen County every single day," he added.