One afternoon, nourish.NJ received a call from a manager of a nearby local grocery store. He explained that due to the limit of staff members that could be in the store at one time, many of his staff lost overtime hours, which they need to make ends meet. The manager explained he has four staff members (three of whom have children) who were having trouble affording food. The situation was untenable, and he really wanted to help his staff. He was emotional about the idea of them leaving for the day and going home hungry. The Outreach team also couldn’t bear the idea of anyone, especially an essential worker, going to bed on an empty stomach.
Even though it was after hours, the Outreach staff hopped in the car and drove to nourish.NJ where they collected over 15 bags filled with food, frozen meals, fruit and supplies. They then headed to the grocery store and dropped them off in the parking lot. The grocery store workers met the team outside so they could put the food right into their cars to bring home to their family. The manager thanked nourish.NJ for providing for his staff, so they could continue providing for the community.