Franklin Food Bank Trying to Keep Up with 35% Increased Need

On the first Monday of each month, we look forward to our visit from the Franklin Food Bank. This month, Franklin Food Bank Development Director Allie O’Brien made a return appearance to share some important information.

This Wednesday, June 5^th, for the second month, they’re working out of their new home at First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens at 771 Somerset Street in Somerset, New Jersey. The community distribution begins at 11 am and until supplies last.

Their nutrition Class is at the food bank on the first Friday of every month and is open to the public. You can stop by for a cooking demo and a lecture on how to lead a healthier lifestyle.

Students participating in the free and reduced lunch program are automatically eligible for $120 in EBT dollars through a new program offered through schools and the State of New Jersey. You may be eligible to participate if your family does not participate in free and reduced lunch. During the summer, children experiencing food insecurity miss up to two meals every day due to not being in school. Visit HungerFreeNJ.org to learn more about eligibility and how to sign up.

From 2022 to 2023 the Franklin Food Bank saw a 35% increase in the number of people using their services for help with groceries. That's just one year of the food bank running the same number of programs, open the same days and times. This speaks to the incredible increase in local need as prices continue to squeeze families who are already struggling with the cost of rent, utilities, gas, and groceries. These expenses have not stopped climbing.

Check out my interview with Franklin Food Bank Development Director Allie O'Brien

The Franklin Food Bank continues to desperately serve the need in their current facility which has not grown in size to accommodate the space needed. To combat this they have recently increased their hours, which has led to an additional 100 appointments each month. 

Go to FranklinFoodBank.org to learn more!

I love leftovers, but sometimes it's hard to eat them all. You run out of time before you can finish all of it. As a matter of fact, according to a new study, the food I eat the most is the food that is hardest to use up.

That's according to a study that was commissioned by Hello Fresh. The survey shows that about one-third of us don't eat leftovers mainly because we forget about them. The uneaten foods find their way to some out-of-view location in the refrigerator in some unmarked and unidentified container only to be discovered long after it's too late.

The waste isn't limited to leftovers. Condiments don't last forever, but they do last a long time. However, there are certain condiments and ingredients that we use so infrequently that there's no way we could ever use them up before we deem them unacceptable for human consumption.

The study found that "23% of people who go grocery shopping wind up purchasing at least five food items a week that they wish they could get in smaller quantities, like bunches of grapes or strands of herbs."  Sadly, "a fifth of respondents shared that they often overestimate how much food they’ll use when grocery shopping."

Then there are the perishable foods that we could finish, but we almost never do. The survey found that these are the top six foods that are the "hardest ingredients/foods to use up."

This seems totally accurate, as I mentioned, the number one item is the one food that I eat the most, but still seem to waste a lot of it.

My daughter loves avocado on toast, so I usually buy these in a six-pack. We usually wasted one of two every week, but it's better than not having enough. That fits right in with the fact that 17% of all avocados are wasted.

Sometimes it's hard to finish all the bread before it gets moldy. It depends on how many sandwiches the make a week. If the kids have a few days off of school it throws off the whole bread slice weekly estimate.

These are really hard to predict each week. Fortunately, apples can be used in several different ways. In a salad, by itself, in a pie, and even in cereal.

OMG, milk! It's the worst when you drink mild by accident that's gone bad. If you don't check the date or give it a smell it can ruin a bowl of cereal or a cup of coffee. There's also the mistake of buying milk when you already have lots of it. Then you're looking for ways to drink it up before it gets sour.

Our family eats a lot of bananas, but we always seem to throw a few out every week. It's almost the perfect snack! It's cheap, prewrapped, and lets you know in an obvious way that it's gone bad.

I eat a lot of salad, and I love the salad kits or premade bags of salad. One of the things I appreciate is that the expiration date on those bags is usually spot on. Leftover lettuce from a sliced up head of lettuce is the food that gets wasted the most.