In 2022, we began organizing the Community Food Connection. A small group of ten from the Asbury Park area grew into a network over 80 people from all over Monmouth County. All of us share a passion for fresh food access, and we wanted to do something about it. At that time, a consistent supply of fresh produce was not a common site at many of our pantries, even though this was the most sought after for pantry guests. There was also a lack of fresh New Jersey farm food represented, even though we are the Garden State, and still boast many productive produce farms. Organic produce was almost unheard of. Many farmers were tired of being asked to donate produce as the cost of farming in our state, paired with development issues, started to rise. At the same time, we also started to understand that not everyone wants to access their food from a food pantry: some believe there is a stigma attached.
So, we took the bold step of creating our Farm to Family Initiative, which in 2024 includes over 35 weekly sites such as pantries, senior centers, Boys and Girls Club, our Early Childhood Learning Center, senior living facilities, and even our very first bodega (corner store), Sheffield’s Market of Asbury Park. We are proud partners to Fernbrook Farm, Chesterfield, NJ, and Heidaway Farm, in Howell. Paying our farmers a fair price for their produce is an important part of our mission, and we are proud to support these hard working farm families, and help them thrive into future generations.
We have grown from an initial 200 families to 600, all receiving at least four varieties of all naturally-grown, seasonal N.J produce for free, every week from June-November. Now, you can walk into a large percentage of Monmouth County pantries and community spaces almost any day of the week and get this bounty for free.
We are changing the face of the Monmouth County food system, and hope to grow even larger and stronger in 2025. Check out this article about our work. But we need your help. We invite you to become a fundraiser for the Farm to Family Initiative and/or sponsor a family today through this site.
