Sustain & Serve program helped needy, Ridgewood NJ restaurants
It was the sight of 15 meals loaded in a baby carriage at the Franciscan Community Development Center of Fairview that drew the attention of Ridgewood restaurateur Paul Vagianos.
The owner of It’s Greek to Me was told that some of the meals he had just helped prepare and deliver as part of the Sustain & Serve program were headed for a two-room apartment housing 15 people.
“I’ve got to tell you, that changed my view,” Vagianos said. “I was so moved by what I saw. It was something I never expected to see in Bergen County.”
Vagianos is among 20 Ridgewood restaurant owners who participated in the second phase of the meals program funded by a $2 million New Jersey Economic Development Authority grant to the HealthBarn Foundation in Ridgewood.
The small businesses were paid $10 per meal to prepare an estimated 12,000 nutritious meals weekly for distribution to 29 food pantries and organizations in Bergen and Passaic counties.
Vagianos estimates that half those restaurants would not have survived without the program’s cash injection, intended to address the county’s estimated 71% increase in food insecurity since the pandemic began in 2020.
“This is the only truly bipartisan effort I’ve seen,” said Vagianos, who is also a councilman in Ridgewood. “It makes us all proud.”
Helping restaurants survive was important, but so was feeding the increasing number of food-insecure residents during the pandemic, said Tara Colton, the authority’s executive vice president of economic security and special projects.
“We surveyed those receiving the meals and asked what they would eat if they did not have these meals,” Colton said. “They told us a can of soup, a piece of bread or nothing.”
“We’re getting powerful feedback on this program,” Colton said. “When we started we had 150 restaurants in 12 counties. Now we have 400 restaurants in 21 counties” participating. Besides HealthBarn, grant winners in North Jersey included the Holy Name Foundation and Newark Working Kitchens.
Phase II, financed for $20 million statewide, is scheduled to end in March for all recipients. Registration for a smaller, $10 million Phase III begins March 1, with a per-meal stipend increase from $10 to $12, and an allowance for part of the grant to be used for operational costs.
“That’s a big deal for us,” said HealthBarn Foundation Director Stacey Antine. “We have to account for everything we spend, and our accountants do not work for free.”
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For Antine, who has orchestrated an estimated 400-volunteer task force to oversee the collection and delivery operation as well as restaurant participation, it’s notable that the state has supported the concept of nutritious meals, not just food.
“They are getting a hot meal with protein, vegetables and whole grains,” Antine said. “We’re improving the quality of their health, particularly the children, avoiding problems like early diabetes and childhood obesity.”
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Meanwhile, organizations such as the Franciscan Center are lamenting the end of the second phase of the program and awaiting the next round. “This was a really special grant that was actually able to touch the poverty of many of the forgotten groups we have,” said Su Colacurcio, executive director of the Franciscan Community Development Center. It received 1,800 meals per week for its clients in Fairview and Cliffside Park, but the deliveries ended Friday.
Bergen County Executive James Tedesco helped deliver meals to the Franciscan Center on Friday.
“By connecting community-based food efforts with local food suppliers, and partnering with nonprofit organizations including HealthBarn Foundation, our shared efforts have provided a valuable line of support for residents facing this unfortunate reality,” Tedesco said.
Bergen County Commissioner Tracy Zur, who heads the Food Insecurity Task Force and matches up restaurants and volunteers with grant recipients and pantries, called the program “tremendously impactful.”
“The pandemic may be on the decline, but the need for meals has not,” Zur said.
For more information or to volunteer for the HealthBarn Foundation program, email [email protected] or call 201-444-2955.
Marsha Stoltz is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @marsha_stoltz
