A Special Thanks to our Walk-in Dinner Volunteers

The year 2020 brought challenges to all of us that we couldn’t have imagined. But through it all, Family Promise volunteers stepped up and showed up in amazing ways to support the Walk-In Dinner Program. Because of our food providers and supporters, both old and new, we were able to continue to provide dinner to 150 hungry people every day, seven days a week, as we have been doing for thirty consecutive years. Even a pandemic could not stop our mission and our promise!

Since 2009, the dinner has been served in a communal dining room at the Housing, Health and Human Services Center in Hackensack, welcoming shelter residents and also those in the community in need of a free and nutritious meal. When COVID-19 arrived in March, Family Promise had to pivot and adapt to changing circumstances. With residents moved out of the shelter to local motels, our volunteers began packing up, delivering, and distributing donated meals.

We are profoundly grateful to everyone who has been a part of this effort to address the issue of hunger in our community. Thank you to the providers who have cooked, catered in support of local restaurants, or donated funds to purchase a meal. And thank you to all those working tirelessly together on site to get the job done. Starting with a handful, the team of volunteers willing to help us accomplish our goals has continued to grow.

The Board and the Staff of Family Promise are so very thankful for the generosity, perseverance, and compassion demonstrated by so many during an extremely difficult time.  We look forward together to better times ahead.