Together We Make An Impact

The Interfaith Food Pantry and Resource Center (IFPRC) which serves Morris County residents by supplying supplemental and emergency food during times of need, will be honoring Impact 100- Garden State at their Annual Spring Gala, Together We Make An Impact, to be held on April 17, 2020 at the Birchwood Manor in Whippany, NJ.

In 2016, the IFP was the recipient of a $100,000 grant from Impact 100 - Garden State in support of its Healthy Choices Mobile Pantry Program. The substantial gift enabled the IFP to purchase a refrigerated van, hire needed staff and acquire high-quality, fresh produce and dairy items for distribution to Morris County residents through a network of partner agencies.

Carolyn Lake, IFP Executive Director said of the award “The grant helped us establish a new, innovative approach to addressing food insecurity and its associated health issues, efficiently expanding our distribution capabilities without duplicating efforts. By leveraging an existing infrastructure that includes well-run and established food pantries, low-income senior housing units, nutrition sites operated by the county, and other community agencies, we have been able to expand our reach, improving the health and well-being of many Morris residents in need who previously lacked access to the healthy food and nutrition information available at our sites.”

Through the Mobile Pantry the IFP now has a presence in 22 locations across the County and has tripled the number of people served from about 10,000 in 2016 to nearly 33,000 over the course of 2019.

The Interfaith Food Pantry and Resource Center is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, established in 1994 by four area houses of worship to address a growing need among low-income families and seniors in need of supplemental groceries. Last year the IFP distributed more than 1.2 million pounds of food to residents in nearly all of Morris Counties 39 municipalities through its two Client Choice pantries in Morristown and Parsippany, and through its Home Delivery and Mobile Pantry programs.

Impact 100 - Garden State is a unique group of philanthropic women who collectively fund high-impact grants that help disadvantaged, impoverished and underserved populations in Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex and Union counties in New Jersey. The grants are provided to nonprofit organizations that complete a rigorous application process and are selected through a membership vote.

The Spring Gala, sponsored by Wegmans, MetLife, and Willis Towers Watson among others is the Pantry’s largest annual fundraiser. It includes a formal dinner with live and silent auctions, merchandise and cash raffles, and entertainment. Tickets are $250 each and may be purchased online at the IFP website https:// one.bidpal.net/ifp2020. For more information, call 973-538-8049 or email sbenedict@mcifp.org