SPEAKER_00 0:08

Welcome to Beyond the Weekend with Bishop Kevin Sweeney, a podcast of the Diocese of Patterson, Jersey. Join us for conversations about our Catholic faith. And together, let's strive to live a life of faith, hope, and love. We're so glad you can join us. I'm Jay Agnish. With me is Bishop Kevin Sweeney. Bishop Kevin, how are you?

SPEAKER_01 0:25

I'm good, Jay. How are you doing?

SPEAKER_00 0:26

Doing well, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 0:27

We have a new studio. No, we're just uh location.

SPEAKER_00 0:30

Yeah, remote episode. Uh you stay you stay in warm or uh what's it?

SPEAKER_01 0:35

So far so good, thank god.

SPEAKER_00 0:36

And dry, a lot of snow out there. Some in the horizon, apparently. So um yeah, so we uh made a little trek out to Morris Plains, and we are on location at the Interfaith Food Pantry Network in Morris Plains, and we have with us uh Carolyn Lake to your right there, who is the executive director of the Interfaith Food Pantry Network, and Helen Hallberg, who is the board president. And uh we're happy that you invited us and thanks for having us.

SPEAKER_01 1:07

We're thrilled to have you.

SPEAKER_00 1:08

Thank you for coming. Thanks for being on.

SPEAKER_01 1:10

It's my second trip I was able to get here finally after a long time. Uh just uh I guess it was right before after Thanksgiving. I guess uh right after Thanksgiving, I think maybe. And uh I'm sure that was your busy time, and uh but it sounds like uh it hasn't exactly slowed down even within the year, huh?

SPEAKER_04 1:29

Uh no. Uh it remains busy. Thanksgiving was very busy for us. It is our busiest season.

SPEAKER_01 1:36

Um Christmas as well, I guess. Not as much Christmas.

SPEAKER_04 1:40

Um we guarantee that the people and agencies that rely on us for Thanksgiving food will get a Thanksgiving basket. And then for Christmas, anything that's left over, and there usually is, um, goes out for Christmas where people can have their ham or turkey or whatever they want. Uh but we did serve about 2,600 people through um through our two pantries and through other agencies who received a turkey. They got all the things, big bag of produce, um, you know, all of the things uh for Thanksgiving.

SPEAKER_01 2:16

Well, um again, we're so happy to uh have the chance to come down is uh because uh uh just even walking in, and you can I think Jay's has some pictures that he'll show in some video. Uh uh it's quite an operation. And uh see, I've heard about it, uh, and we've had some contact over the years. Uh um uh God's work is God's work uh in terms of especially um uh offering uh food to those who are hungry. Uh that's uh Jesus said uh in Matthew 25, I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. So we know for those of us um who are Christians, it's a big part of uh who we are and what we're called to do. Um and so you I know you have many Christian denominations in uh part of the interfaith, and we'll talk more about some of the origin, but uh but uh uh uh it's great to see people of faith coming together, right, and putting their faith in action. Yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 3:09

Um I and as he had mentioned, I I believe all faiths, whether it's Christian, Judaism, Hinduism, there's an underlying text in all of the different religions that allude to feeding hungry.

SPEAKER_01 3:24

Right, right, right, right. Right, right.

SPEAKER_04 3:26

And even people who don't practice religion still have a moral compass to help their neighbors.

SPEAKER_01 3:30

That's right. And and we would believe, we would say that's that's because we're all children of God, and you know, that the way God made us, um, there's there's something in us that we want to, that we have a sense of right and wrong, good and bad, and uh, and someone in need uh is uh we uh we we f feel even those who may not you know profess a faith in God or a particular religion, uh there's something about us as human beings. We believe that um uh especially when we're open to uh trying to do the right thing, uh, that we would we would help someone who's in need. But we'll talk more about it and hear your but maybe we'll just uh uh get started with a prayer, huh? Yeah, sounds good. Great. Um we'll place ourselves in God's presence in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and giving thanks to God in a special way for um Carolyn, for Helen, uh and for all those who um make this uh interfaith food pantry possible. Um people of generosity, people of goodness, um donors, volunteers, um and realizing that uh we're all in need of God's love and God's mercy and and that we're privileged to uh be able to help our sisters and brothers who may find themselves in need uh in Thanksgiving for all the good work that's done here in the Interfaith Food Pantry and throughout our diocese and so many places by those who uh especially um reach out to those in need. We join our prayers together as one as we pray, as Jesus Himself has taught us. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. In the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen. Helen, uh sorry it went out of my head for a second there. Uh uh, you're the board president.

SPEAKER_02 5:31

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 5:32

Um maybe tell us how that came about or um how the Lord led you to be the head of the board.

SPEAKER_02 5:40

Um it's really such a privilege to be part of the organization. Um and it's it's also wonderful. My husband and son had some time volunteering, and so um it was it was really wonderful to uh join the board. We have an a really high-performing board, very compassionate. Many of them are volunteers first and foremost. Um I was able to do a lot of different volunteer activities as an early on as a board member to learn the operation. I continue to do home delivery to homebound seniors, which is really important part of our of what we do, in addition to the clients that come here and are able to shop for their families. So for me, it's about um being able to give back. I'm really grateful for where I am in in life. Um it's important to live with purpose, and so for me, this is part of giving back and being grateful for all the you know benefits, and it provides a lot of joy and happiness to be part of such a wonderful organization.

SPEAKER_01 6:50

And I know you said you live in Morris County, right?

SPEAKER_02 6:53

Yeah, right here in Morristown, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:55

And Carolyn?

SPEAKER_04 6:57

I live in Morris Township.

SPEAKER_01 6:58

Okay, right. And uh sometimes people might think of place here, place like Morris County or even Morristown, and say, well, well there's not there's not any need there. But uh uh Carolyn, you see uh on both, I'm sure, uh, that that there is some need right here in the local community, right?

SPEAKER_04 7:16

Yes. Well, people are shocked to learn that, you know, we right here in Morris County, which is consistently ranked one of the wealthiest in the nation, have uh 10,000 SNAP households through our two locations and all of the partners that we work with that expand our reach. We have 38 external partners. We distributed 2.4 million pounds of food during 40,000 household visits. So you think about that. Um so you know, that does break down in a certain number of individual households, but every time they come, if you counted them with a clicker, it's 40,000 visits. Um the problem is real, it often goes unrecognized. People who are relying on a food pantry for their meals do not walk around and tell people, oh yeah, we set the food pantry last night and I got all this food. And we don't realize who they are, but they're um, you know, they're not just people who are relying on SNEP and government benefits. They're workers.

SPEAKER_01 8:17

Right. They work in a And you have this location here in um, is it called Central Park in Morristown, I think, uh uh uh Yes. Where there's a few govern county government buildings, right? And uh how did you end up here?

SPEAKER_04 8:30

Um so our origins came back in 1994 when we took over the county food clauses.

SPEAKER_01 8:38

Okay, I think right.

SPEAKER_04 8:39

And the county didn't want to be in this business because we were doing a very good job out of the out of the basement of the first Baptist Church, and they said, all right, well, why don't you can you do this for this? And they gave us some space that was a good thing.

SPEAKER_01 8:50

The basement of the first Baptist Church um was the beginning, huh?

SPEAKER_04 8:53

That was the beginning.

SPEAKER_01 8:55

Right.

SPEAKER_04 8:55

Um there were a group of volunteers from Notre Dame Church. Cedar Knowles that were um volunteering with the drop-in center for homeless families. And what they were finding there were a lot more families that needed food that had housing, but there were no programs, you know, aside from the small pantries that were operated in St. Margaret's Church and Assumption Church. There was no coordinated effort. So they would bring the food from Notre Dame, collect it from the other houses of worship, and bring it down to the First Baptist Church. That was the origins of interfaith. Okay, right? Um so they like I mentioned, they they had this coordinated effort, and the County of Morris worked with us. We took over their food closets in exchange, they gave us some space in um county-owned property on Hanover Avenue right up the road. And it was the basement of a nursing home that was built in 1922 that was operating as a home shelter. Uh, as we grew out of that space, um John Murphy, who was the commissioner at the time, was also a firefighter, and he said, you know what, let's negotiate something for you because you don't fit here anymore, and this is untenable.

SPEAKER_01 10:10

Were you around at that time in terms of being involved?

SPEAKER_04 10:15

I was a volunteer at that time.

SPEAKER_01 10:16

Right, right.

SPEAKER_04 10:17

Um and so that was when we then were able to acquire this property from the county. Um and there, you know, they said you can have property, you just need to build raise the money to build the building.

SPEAKER_01 10:31

Did you give Jay the tour? Oh, yeah. I got the tour. It's great. You have a like a warehouse, right? And and a shopping place. And uh so um so you said uh it it it was the built- this was built from the ground up to be the center of the It was built from the ground up and blessed by Father Duffy from uh St.

SPEAKER_04 10:49

Virgil's Church when we when we cut the ribbon.

SPEAKER_03 10:52

Wow.

SPEAKER_04 10:53

No, it was in 2011.

SPEAKER_01 10:54

Amazing.

SPEAKER_04 10:55

And so we've been here since. We underwent some major renovations outside of COVID in 2021 to accommodate the massive increase in demand.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

And then you said there's a location in Morristown itself as well. Yes. And uh we have to get in the plug for Christ the King, right? In uh New Vernon. They certainly do. They just gave a donation to help uh uh uh make that uh uh uh site more accessible.

SPEAKER_04 11:22

Yes, our original food distribution site. It's on Speedwell Avenue in Morristown. It's it's unmarked. It was uh a home, it was a barbershop at one time. We converted it into a distribution center back before we had this one.

SPEAKER_05 11:35

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 11:35

Uh but maintaining a presence in Morristown is very important to us. Now, because it's an old home, um, it really needed to be rehabbed to make it more accessible. We wanted to put a ramp up for people who have to wheel carts or if they're disabled and they're using walkers. Um so Christ the King recently gave us a grant of $9,000 to help us renovate that property.

SPEAKER_00 11:59

So, Carolyn, do you want to tell the story of there was a deacon at church that encouraged you to get going with the what was the It was Merle Sizzler.

SPEAKER_04 12:10

Um and I'll try to keep the story brief because I make it very long. Um this was shortly after 9-11, and I had left my job because I had a very young child at the time, and my job and the child did not mix well. And I was kind of at a point where I wanted to do something more than work for corporations, and um, you know, I had actually prayed on this, and I was praying for purpose. And I was at church, and Mo was telling the story about what was happening with the food that they were giving out at the church and this family that came in. He was trying to help her, but he was hurried. He was trying to get her the food and have her leave. And she kept taking the food out of the bag. And he's saying, I'm trying to help you. I don't understand what you're doing. And he was getting short. And she said, You don't understand. I I don't have a can opener. And it halted him in his tracks. And it kind of in hearing this story halted me for a moment. And to think that he's telling the story about somebody who lived locally and then started talking about all of the people that it were food insecure here in our community, was eye-opening to the world.

SPEAKER_01 13:35

God works in mysterious ways, speaks in mysterious ways, was answering your prayer.

SPEAKER_04 13:38

And I do think he did, and I think he put me in the right place at the right time. Because um, a few years later, when I was going to go back into the workforce, um Rosemary Gilmartin, who was the director at the time, asked me if I would come on staff, and she said, uh Nadine, who is the outreach coordinator, has cancer. She's fine, she can do her job, she just needs some wheels, she needs help. And so I agreed to take on the position of assisting Nadine. Um, and Nadine passed away a few days before I would start. So I came in and I took over Nadine's position, and that was what brought me on staff. And then over the years I had learned more, took on additional responsibilities, took over for the assistant director when she was having health problems and she left, and eventually brought me to 2019 when I took over as executive director.

SPEAKER_01 14:43

Um God really does work in mysterious ways. As Helen was saying, I think uh your son and your husband were involved first, is that right? That's right, yes. Uh and and they through them, but you I think you also said were you involved with some other organizations that are connected with um Absolutely with the board and the and and the the work of the of the food pantry?

SPEAKER_02 15:05

Yeah. The wonderful thing that we do, in addition to having the locations that Carolyn described, is we also provide um emergency food to other organizations throughout the community. We also have um over 35 pantry partners. So for senior housing units and other locations, we're making sure they have nutritious food, vegetables, fruit, dairy, eggs, things that they might not otherwise have available at smaller local pantries. So it's really an important part of as we've grown, being able to make sure that the whole county is also thriving and getting nutritious food. It's not just the canned food and the non-perishables are wonderful, but a lot of our focus is on nutrition and making sure that our our guests and clients are going to be healthy going forward.

SPEAKER_01 16:03

And those partnerships and relationships with other groups are so important, right?

SPEAKER_02 16:07

Absolutely. And then then the relationships that we have with the faith-based organizations, the schools, the community just really makes what we're able to do um happen.

SPEAKER_01 16:19

Um Yeah, I I guess I uh um hearing, you know, uh assumption, St. Margaret's, uh, St. Virgil's, um, Notre Dame, uh, you know, um uh as Bishop hearing about the good work those parishes do, but uh over time hearing how many of them were connected here and uh and you know I uh uh having a place like this um uh it gives people of faith in a a a place right where they can go and and put their faith in into action uh and to see that collaboration between the parishes, the pastors, uh youth groups, um confirmation classes surely volunteers, right, that would lead from parishes to here, and and then the relationship goes back and forth.

SPEAKER_04 17:03

A lot of our volunteer base um come from the local churches. Right. And it's because uh, you know, we're always welcomed in to do pulpit talks, and people are just inspired. Right, parishes do food drives as well, I guess. Do food drives, they um, you know, are always and many of them will publish our food needs in their bulletins, so they'll say, all right, here's our collection for interfaith this month, these are the things we need. And it goes even beyond the parishes that you had mentioned, St. Thomas More is another St.

SPEAKER_01 17:36

Pat's King, we're right, right. Um St. Pat's right.

SPEAKER_04 17:39

Even as we move, you know, more west, St. Teresa and Sakasana, and a lot a lot of them are regularly involved and will help us evangelize when we really need following the church.

SPEAKER_00 17:49

So that's Baptist Church, some temples involved.

SPEAKER_04 17:52

Yes. Um, a lot of the local temples, Temple of Binay or um uh what's there's another one in Morristown. There's there's several Adat Shalam that are very involved, and the Hindu temples are very active.

SPEAKER_05 18:07

Oh, interesting.

SPEAKER_04 18:08

So there are uh we are technically in Parsipony, and there's a very large Hindu population in Parsippony, and they've got some wonderful um civic organizations, Siwad Diwali and others that also get very involved and with food drives and and volunteer work as well.

SPEAKER_00 18:28

It's good to hear I'm half Indian. I I get to Parsippany quite a bit to the Indian restaurants, but I I um you know you Helen, you mentioned about the food, and and as you were touring me around earlier, I was so fascinated by the uh what do you call it? It's like food recycling and gleaning. That's right.

SPEAKER_04 18:48

Yes, our food rescue program. Uh so you know, greenhouse emissions are harmful. And there's really no of the science is behind it, and we know that. Um so in an effort to reduce greenhouse gases, a lot of supermarkets have gone toward a zero waste policy. They really don't want to be purchasing or producing more than they can sell for obvious reasons, for business reasons. Um but they've also embarked on an need to marry this reduction of food waste to food insecurity. So we have now, I think, 11 supermarket partners that we're working with. We are out every morning.

SPEAKER_01 19:36

Instead of throwing food out when it comes up to its expiration date, there should be we bring it back here, we give it out that day.

SPEAKER_04 19:43

And that program has grown dramatically. Uh last year we rescued 600,000 pounds of food from the landfills and were able to give it to people who were able to enjoy it at home.

SPEAKER_01 19:55

Wow, wow, wow. Uh and that takes volunteers and coordination as well, right?

SPEAKER_04 20:00

Uh it certainly does.

SPEAKER_01 20:01

And I think uh you mentioned um corporate partners, um, certainly those um supermarkets, um, but some others as well, I think, and and you say they sometimes come with their um uh teams to to volunteer and and and be part of the uh the work that happens here as well, right? Uh those who might work in offices or white-collar positions, but the the because there's a relationship with the corporation, the employees will come here and Yes.

SPEAKER_04 20:30

Yeah. Yes. And I like a lot of companies, I think, especially over the years, have realized the benefit to offering their employees an opportunity to give back to the community because the employees then have a greater sense of purpose, they have a lot more respect, there's less turnover, and the corporation then gets their logo on our Facebook page, which makes it right there's so there's really good PR that comes out of that. Um one of the programs that they really love is our Free Farmers Market.

SPEAKER_03 21:00

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 21:01

Uh it's a produce-only distribution session that we offer people in between their regular visits.

SPEAKER_05 21:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 21:07

So we're ensuring they're having proper nutrition all month long. And that's the interaction that they get with their neighbors.

SPEAKER_01 21:15

And where does the fresh produce come from?

SPEAKER_04 21:17

We purchase it.

SPEAKER_01 21:18

Okay, right, right. Thanks to the donate. With donated funds.

SPEAKER_04 21:21

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 21:22

Right. Um something else about that. Um uh uh well, I think try to remember that. Uh uh delivering meals to um uh shut ins, that you say that's uh there's the mentioning volunteers, that's um w one of the things that you look for, right? In terms of those who can't. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 21:44

Uh it's very rewarding and all that hell, and speak to the experience. Uh, but it is an area that we're always looking for, volunteers.

SPEAKER_02 21:52

Right. And it a lot of time it it involves people who can't get to the store, either they're shut in or they're

SPEAKER_01 22:00

They not have family who could or to shop for them, huh?

SPEAKER_02 22:02

Exactly. They don't have people that can get to the store. And so we're able to have volunteers that we're all vetted pretty much partner and shop for them here and know what they are looking what they like, what they like to cook at home, what they don't like. And so then we're able to deliver it to their doorstep. And it's really wonderful because you get to know them. You're able to do a check-in and see how they're doing. For me, I have uh, you know, an elderly couple and it's nice to hear about their grand how they're able to then take care of their grandkids and help get um backpacks and things for the kids when it's back to school time and one of them had a birthday today. So it's really w rewarding and a great part of what we do. And um most of the board members are home delivery volunteers, and it's a it continues to be a growing part of our of of the way we're serving the community.

SPEAKER_01 23:02

How many would home deliveries would you do, maybe in a month or in a week?

SPEAKER_04 23:06

We have about 140 households that we service with home delivery. I had and I I know I said I talk a lot, but I do have a home delivery story I would like to keep it right. It was one of the first volunteers jobs that I had when I started volunteering. One of the families that I was delivering to, he was an Iraq war vet that was injured. And they were living in landing in this very small apartment. There were a set of twins and an uh an older child all living in this apartment. And I was doing these home deliveries with my daughter. And she was about, I don't know, maybe five or six at the time. But we were delivering to them for quite some time, so she got to know the boy that we were we're delivering to that was the same age. And she always talked about how excited he got when he got the goldfish. They loved those goldfish crackers. And this experience of doing these deliveries stuck with her. And she, upon graduation from high school, started looking at colleges and was initially drawn to all the Northeast colleges. For whatever reason, Xavier called her. And she wrote her college essay on her experiences doing home deliveries, and she called this essay the goldfish rule, and talked about her and Peter growing up together and finding the things that we shared in common was our love for these goldfish. And then ended up writing this entire college essay in um Xavier in Xavier University in Cincinnati.

SPEAKER_01 24:47

And that's where she ended up going.

SPEAKER_04 24:49

That's where she ended up. I keep her very look at that.

SPEAKER_01 24:54

And started with goldfish. Started with goldfish. Right, right, right.

SPEAKER_00 24:58

What um what have you noticed are any trends as far as has there been an increase in in need in in recent years? I mean, obviously COVID, you know, kind of blew things up for every everyone. But what's been going on lately? Where's the the need been, or how have you adjusted in any ways to meet that need?

SPEAKER_04 25:57

Um I think that uh in general, uh the cost of living here in Morris County has skyrocketed. And we see a significant number of families who come in, and we ask them where their income is, that are just listing prime salary as their primary source of income. Um about half of everybody that comes in here has two income families. That are working.

SPEAKER_01 26:30

They often say rent eats first.

SPEAKER_04 26:33

Rent does eat first. People have to pay their rent, they have to pay their utilities. You need a car in order to maintain a job in Morris County because transit doesn't exist. And food is the last thing people will spend money on.

SPEAKER_01 26:47

Right. Working poor, it's not just a phrase, right? The real people that are trying to survive, uh, that have jobs and um even decent jobs. But when, especially if there's children, the the and and and recent inflation uh, you know, uh um uh there are real challenges, right? Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 27:05

The United Way has a term for this. They coined it Alice.

SPEAKER_01 27:08

Alice.

SPEAKER_04 27:09

The Alice population, asset limited, income constrained, and employed.

SPEAKER_01 27:14

Wow.

SPEAKER_04 27:14

And these are the families that are working um but are not meaning the level of self-sufficiency and your self-sufficiency index for a family of four, if you had two children that need child care to afford your basics, rent, child care, transportation, insurance, clothing, food, et cetera, you know, forget the vacations. In Morris County is about $100,000 a year. And so when you look at the number of people that are between the poverty level and the self-sufficiency level, it is it's a significant percentage of our population.

SPEAKER_01 27:53

Those working in service industries aren't making $100,000, right? They certainly are not. And other other jobs that are important and um, yes, bringing a salary, but not to to be able to reach that level, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 28:06

And to be able to qualify for federal programs, you know, when you look at, you know, um like synop assistance and things like that, etc. One of the things that's you're making too much.

SPEAKER_01 28:17

Right. Right, right. Um, Helen, did you say you came on the board during the in 2020?

SPEAKER_02 28:23

Exactly, during the pandemic. So we've really seen the growth of operations probably doubled from where we were before the pandemic in terms of the number of people we're serving. And then I think it's important to note we're really not a government-funded non-for-profit. Um our support comes from the community, it comes from individuals, it comes from all the different churches we talked about, and um grants, and you know, it really is an important that we got no subsidy, huh? No, no. So we're really able to run an operation as we do, and as Carolyn said, you know, over 2.5 million pounds of food last year alone. Um, so it's important to have the community support support and that rally around what we do.

SPEAKER_01 29:16

And while there may not be direct support, it sounds like you do have a good relationship with the county and the county uh administration.

SPEAKER_04 29:23

Yes. See, we have an excellent relationship with the county, and I should clarify that we do um get one grant from the county that supports our home delivery program. Um take whatever we can get, right? Yes, right, right, right. Oh, yes, division of aging, yeah, sure. Um you know, most of it comes from um private individuals, um, houses of worship, fundraising, grantors, capacumen services.

SPEAKER_00 29:51

Is there any major fundraising events you want to plug or tell us about? Yeah. Well you have to.

SPEAKER_02 29:58

How didn't take it over? So we just had our kickoff last night um for our spring gala. Okay. Um so we're very excited for for that. Um, April 24th at the Meadowwood. We're gonna have the Save the Date cards sent out next week, and it'll be on our website. And it's a really a night of celebration, um, honoring what we do, several really important organizations that have contributed um to our work this year, and um appreciating our staff and volunteers and all of our different community partners. So it's it's a fun evening, and I hope we get the support this year as we always do.

SPEAKER_01 30:41

You reminded me of uh something I wanted to ask earlier. Um you're big on social media, right? Is that um uh the the food pantry itself?

SPEAKER_04 30:48

Um we have our Instagram, our uh Facebook, and our LinkedIn presence.

SPEAKER_01 30:55

And a lot of followers, I guess, and that's one of the ways that you can attract volunteers and uh donations, huh? Yes, yes. Yeah, we've been doing that for a while.

SPEAKER_04 31:03

And communicate sort of what's happening and where we need people to, if there's you know, specific levels of support that we need, support for events, and just to advise people what's going on, you know. In November, as you know, we had SNAP benefits halted.

SPEAKER_03 31:21

Oh, right.

SPEAKER_04 31:22

And people wanted to know, okay, well, what next? What do we do? And so of course we use our social media channels to explain what our response is, what we want people to do, how they can contact us for help, and how to kind of help us spread the word.

SPEAKER_01 31:37

Right, right. And food programs really had a try everything possible to get ready to who know who knew how long it was gonna last, right? Um yeah.

SPEAKER_04 31:46

Yeah, we we were fortunate. We did have some emergency response, and we again worked with the county and the Office of Emergency Management to set up a response plan for uh a lot n of new families. And we managed to sort of handle a few hundred uh new households in the week that the benefits were delayed and we were very fortunate that we were able to uh as a state get them reinstated quickly.

SPEAKER_00 32:17

I wonder if I maybe should have asked you this sooner, but if you could just walk us through the the the the client's experience when they come in the door, like what what happens?

SPEAKER_04 32:28

Sure. Um so there's an initial intake. We have five counselors on staff that when someone comes to us if they're referred by, you know, the hospital or the accounting office of temporary assistance, they have a very quick phone interview. And like I said, they just need to be a Morris County resident, and then we just ask them, we don't ask for proof of income or anything like that, but tell us about your circumstances. That process is important because there may be things happening in that person's life that they want to share with the other.

SPEAKER_01 33:06

Our Catholic charities programs we're redoing our Father English uh center and um uh being able to offer other resources, right? Because if someone is needed of food, there's often the need for many, uh a number of other um whether it be family health or employment or right.

SPEAKER_04 33:22

Pay my electricity, I can't pay my rent or you know. I have no transportation that and then we can make those referrals to other agencies that can help.

SPEAKER_01 33:31

How many would you staff would you have that are uh doing intakes on a daily daily basis?

SPEAKER_04 33:37

Is it five. We have five um client services and um they're all finally will, which is helpful. Um and they're all trauma trained because we know that folks coming through our doors have all had unique experiences that put them in a position that for whatever reason, whether it's if their income isn't covering your expenses, or they recently lost a family member, or they recently lost a job.

SPEAKER_01 34:09

And then the conversation can begin with name and address, and you know what but once you say, How are you doing, uh uh then you never know where it can go, right?

SPEAKER_04 34:17

Well, exactly. And that's why we also do trauma-informed training for our volunteers. Because people can be coming in, we don't know where that person came from. They could have just been standing in line at you know, or sitting in a lobby at the hospital, or they could have come from, you know, trying to get Medicare benefits sorted out and have been at OT for four hours. And so understanding that their individual experiences and being able to identify, well, this person right now, let's just see what we can do to keep them calm and get them food in in a peaceful manner. And others who, you know, may come in where where they're much more approachable and being able to kind of identify and meet people where they're at is very important.

SPEAKER_01 35:04

And so then um uh they speak to an intake person and um then uh what happens after that, right?

SPEAKER_04 35:12

In terms of um they're they're signed uh at a time slot to come.

SPEAKER_01 35:17

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 35:18

We are open eleven days a week, so we offer eleven different time slots between this location and our satellite pantry, um, including off hours, you know, Tuesday nights, Wednesday nights, and Saturdays for our working families. And they come once a month. By having them come in once a month, we're able to accommodate a lot of families. Um if we had to do this every two weeks or so, it it could be more challenging. So we load them up with food. Um, they're getting a good month's worth of food, typical family of four. We'll leave with about three or four hundred dollars worth of food and then can come back two weeks later for a produce distribution session. When they come in, they're um greeted by a volunteer and because they have a specific day to come, and those volunteers are assigned to that specific day, as you may have noticed, some of them get to know each other. And now they're having a dialogue and they're saying, Oh, hi Mike, how's it going? Hey, what hey, whatever happened with your situation with that? Did you get that job interview? And having that sort of sense of community and that sense of knowing each other, uh familiar faces is important because that helps us know what's happening.

SPEAKER_01 36:44

With more or less an an appointment or scheduled time, um it avoids uh lines of say, right? Uh uh and you know, it has to be in some other places that if a food pantry is gonna open certain hours, certain days, you know, there's a reg there might be a regular line waiting for um but um and again similar to our um Father English Center as as as it reopens something that they had started before um COVID, uh that um it wouldn't be just handing a bag, but that uh the person coming could actually shop, go th and and and say that their family likes this but maybe doesn't like that, right? So they're they're also not throwing things away that they they might receive and not you know be allergic to or something like that.

SPEAKER_03 37:29

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 37:29

But I think that's the experience here, right? There's um they have some ability to go through the pick some of their own.

SPEAKER_04 37:36

Choice is is critical because it like you said, it it it eliminates that waste. They're not getting things that they can't use. They'll only take what they need, only take what they want, but it offers a much more dignified experience. We have a very diverse population that we're serving. Um they want to pick foods that are culturally appropriate. They want to take home, you know, my kids will eat this, they won't eat the oatmeal, you know, I need cold cereal, that you know, that type of thing. Um and it really does restore a lot of dignity in the process.

SPEAKER_00 38:11

Okay, thanks for sharing that. And then for those who are listening and not watching uh on the video version of the podcast, we will have some B-roll of um between one and three, typically, right? Is when the clients come to to get food.

SPEAKER_01 38:26

So um all right, well we're kind of and if somebody um knows a family that might uh or a person that might need help with food, um um Interfaith Food Pantry, Google, is that uh or your website or Interfaith Food Pantry Network, M C I F P dot org is the website? Interface Interfaith FoodPantry.org. M C I F P Is Is it two apps or just one? Just one. And you're on the Interfaith Food, it could be two, but it's just one.

SPEAKER_02 38:58

Facebook, Instagram, Facebook, Facebook, okay. And all they need to do is call the main number to start the process.

SPEAKER_01 39:07

So they could even uh schedule um the intake if it's a first-time person, right? Um uh probably even better than just showing up, right? Absolutely. They should call. Right.

SPEAKER_02 39:17

Yeah, call ahead. That way they'd have a time slot.

SPEAKER_01 39:20

And there's a lot of if they go to your website, there's a a lot of things. All the information is there.

SPEAKER_04 39:26

Um like I mentioned, we work with a lot of community partners, um, the county offices of temporary assistance, a lot of the medical providers, Atlantic Health Zoofall, they all have our information. And even a lot of the other um nonprofit agencies here in the county are very aware of us.

SPEAKER_01 39:47

And if a listener or viewer um is looking to volunteer or to donate, right?

SPEAKER_04 39:52

Uh they can mcifp.org.

SPEAKER_01 39:57

Mcifp.org, Morris County Interfaith Food Pantry, but onef uh.org. Um uh and volunteers and donations, welcome, right?

SPEAKER_04 40:09

Yes, always, always. I should also mention that uh in addition to the funds that were raised last year and the funds that were donated, their individual contributions and grants um and our fundraising events, the food drives are just as important.

SPEAKER_01 40:27

Oh, right, the food drives, yeah, yeah, right. Yes.

SPEAKER_04 40:30

And we just had our finance meeting yesterday, and the food that was collected last year was valued at 4.5 million. That's right. 4.5 million dollars.

SPEAKER_01 40:39

Just from donated food.

SPEAKER_04 40:40

From donated food, yeah.

unknown 40:42

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 40:43

Uh Lent is coming up, right? So uh if they want to do a program during Lent, uh the meat you don't eat on Friday, you can uh uh donate uh uh or make a sacrifice, right? Certainly.

SPEAKER_00 40:55

Yeah, yeah. All right, well, great. Well, I think we'll leave it there. Thank you, Helen. Thank you, Carolyn, so much for a lot of things.

SPEAKER_01 41:03

Thanks, thanks. Uh we'll look forward to keeping in contact and seeing how we could you know help each other and work together.

SPEAKER_04 41:09

We appreciate you being here and thank you for your prayers and your continued support of prayer.

SPEAKER_00 41:16

You got it.

SPEAKER_01 41:16

Yeah, thanks for having us. Please pray for us too.

SPEAKER_04 41:18

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 41:19

And Bishop, before we close out, is it do you want to reflect on any part of the conversation or anything to do with um what happens here and the other?

SPEAKER_01 41:29

Um uh Carol and I were speaking a little bit about uh the recent challenges in our Morristown community um with um the immigrant population and some of the activity that has taken place, which um some of the fear is causing those uh moms or families to uh be afraid to come out. So that's another need for food to be brought sometimes to um our families. We hope that people will be able to feel comfortable enough to uh come out and uh and and be able to come here or to the churches. Um so um that's something that we certainly pray for. Um but um we see the some of the challenges our people are facing, right? Um in at the moment.

SPEAKER_04 42:12

Yes. And we've I just want to address that we've worked with our communities and the families we serve, um, establish a great deal of trust and are very protective of our clients' identities and maintain confidentiality with them. So we are encouraging them to reach out to us and we will we will serve the needed.

SPEAKER_01 42:43

Yes, right, yeah. Um very important at the moment as we pray for all involved and uh um our country and and for peace. And um, so um, yeah, some challenging times for some of our communities, especially our immigrant communities. Uh but as we were also talking uh, I think before we started, that um sometimes in those challenging moments, that's when we see people of goodness and generosity really stepping up, right? And uh and reaching out, and uh uh so um that's that's that's encouraging um um certainly for myself and I think in our parish and other organizations like here, um we see a lot of people of goodness, so um we're grateful for them.

SPEAKER_00 43:21

Awesome. And Bishop, before I I let you go, any uh what else is going on? What do you what are you reading?

SPEAKER_01 43:27

I well I was on retreat last week, which was really wonderful, and uh um uh I finally read uh one of Pope Francis's most important works called Evangeli Gaudium, the joy of the gospel. Uh so that was um you might be hearing more about that, but uh um but also um I don't even know if you heard Pope Leo has recommended a book. Um the I think reporters asked him, and he said, I'll get back to you. Um and uh he said uh I told you I'd get back to you, and uh there's a book called uh The Practice of the Presence of God. The practice of the presence of God by Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, I think in the either 1200s or 1600s, a long time ago, uh, before St. Therese uh did talked about doing little things with great love. Uh he was um he was in a monastery, but he was in the kitchen. He spent a lot of time in the kitchen. So uh if uh for those who work with food or um like to cook, um uh but anyone interested, I think, in the in the spiritual life, it's um it's a classic that maybe hadn't been as well known, but I think it's gonna be going up on the uh bestseller list. So I'm about two-thirds of the way through it. Um I I remember hearing about it and having a copy of it when I was in the seminary. I don't remember whether or not I had read it, um, but I'm really happy to have had the chance to get back to it. And uh if you're looking for a little spiritual reading, uh The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence, it'll be easy to find because I think it's William Bulk gave it a good bump.

SPEAKER_00 44:58

So yeah, it's trending today. All right, well, thanks again, and thank you, Bishop. And thank you all for joining us. Please subscribe, comment, and leave a positive rating. Get to know us better by following Bishop Kevin's Instagram and beyond the beacon on social media. Read the bishop's weekly column on beaconnj.org and get in touch if you have a question for the bishop or a podcast topic idea and discover our other podcasts. See you next time.

SPEAKER_01 45:24

Thanks, everybody. God bless you. Thanks again. Thank you.