To the Editor:
One year ago, Share My Meals launched the Meal Recovery Coalition — a statewide partnership with a simple mission: stop wasting good food while so many New Jersey families go hungry. The challenge is plain to see and unacceptable to ignore. Every year, an estimated five million prepared meals go to waste in New Jersey while nearly one million residents face food insecurity. The Coalition was created to close that gap by making meal recovery a standard part of our food system.
In just 12 months, what began as an idea has grown into a coalition of 12 organizations working hand in hand. Together, we have built shared standards for recovering and serving prepared meals, created systems to capture surplus meals safely, and begun getting those meals into the hands of neighbors who need them. This work shows the real power of collaboration.
We are deeply grateful to the organizations that have already joined us in this effort. Corporate and nonprofit members Accenture, Bristol Myers Squibb, Campbell’s, Capital Health, Dartcor, Food Bank of South Jersey, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, and Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK) have stepped forward to make meal recovery part of their commitment to the communities they serve. Foodservice leaders Sodexo and Compass Group (Eurest and Flik) are proving that large-scale kitchens can be part of the solution. Nonprofits including Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ), MEND, Table to Table, Nourish NJ, and FoodRecovery.org bring the on-the-ground expertise to make sure meals reach families quickly and safely. Academic and research leaders from Rutgers University and the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic have helped us align on best practices, and New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and Department of Health (DOH) have lent their expertise at the state level.
Thanks to these partners, the Meal Recovery Coalition is adding a significant new food stream to complement the existing network of food banks, food pantries, and community kitchens. The MRC recovered and served more than 700,000 meals in its first year. And together, we have set a bold goal: to add five million surplus meals into New Jersey’s emergency food system. That’s five million opportunities to reduce waste, fight hunger, and show what is possible when people work together.
This anniversary comes at the close of Hunger Action Month, when communities across the country reflect on how they can fight hunger and reduce waste. Here in New Jersey, the answer is clear: we can make sure every good meal is recovered and shared.
On behalf of Share My Meals and the Coalition, I want to thank communities across the state, and especially the many organizations already standing with us. This work belongs to all of us, and together we can build a future where every meal counts.