In-Studio Visit From Franklin Food Bank PD
Our first Monday live-in-studio visit from the Franklin Food Bank happened again in February. If you missed it, this week was the return of Franklin Food Bank’s newest team member, their Program Director Keli Watkins.
Keli has a social services background and since starting at the Franklin Food Bank has been instrumental in helping to expand their wraparound program offerings to the community.
Wraparound services provide individualized services that help people with complex needs. It’s no secret that the Franklin Food Bank provides food access to families in Franklin.
Food insecurity is just a symptom of more complex issues that affect the underserved, such as access to healthcare, SNAP benefits enrollment assistance access, and more.
The Franklin Food Bank began to pilot wraparound programs in 2022 and, in 2024, ran a full year of formalized wraparound programming including health screenings, nutrition education, flu and COVID vaccines, opioid awareness information, and SNAP benefits enrollment assistance.
Their Central Jersey neighbors responded to the increased programming with their participation. From July to December, their overall wraparound participation grew by 68% over the previous six months. The more programs they offered, the more people showed up. Recently they’ve been able to expand their services further with a larger welcome center that can bring sometimes sensitive sessions into a more private setting.
Just a few weeks ago, they were lucky enough to welcome their newest team member. Through an amazing partnership with Somerset County, the Franklin Food Bank is working with a Community Resource Specialist to work directly with their neighbors and help them navigate the available resources locally that would help them specifically. This is a brand-new initiative made possible by the county.
During my conversation with Keli, we discussed their wraparound programs and more. Check out our conversation here…
Franklin Food Bank Wraparound Services
Franklin Food Bank has been offering wraparound programs like health screenings, SNAP benefits enrollment assistance, and more. Participation in these programs grew by almost 70% in six months last year. This month they have a cancer information session on the 21st which is free for everyone.
On the 27th they’ll welcome a Somerset County nurse to do health screenings and referrals. These types of health focused referral based programs help prevent disease and help catch diseases early in underserved populations who might not otherwise be able to visit their doctor.
Go to FranklinFoodBank.org to learn more.