Essex County is partnering with the Community FoodBank of New Jersey to give out 2,000 boxes of food on Tuesday, April 28 to families who have been forced out of work by the outbreak of COVID-19 and are not able to afford food. It will be held rain or shine.
The food boxes will be given out beginning at 10 a.m. next Tuesday at Branch Brook Park’s Cherry Blossom Welcome Center. You’ve got to go there by car and enter the park via Heller Parkway or other more southern entrances. Cars entering from Mill Street or other northern entrances will not be allowed to make a left turn into the Cherry Blossom Welcome Center parking lot. In addition, residents are asked to not arrive on site until 8 a.m. Vehicles that arrive before 8 a.m. will be asked to leave. This is being done to allow for normal traffic flow through the park and prevent any traffic back-ups from being created.
The emergency food boxes prepared by the Community FoodBank of New Jersey contain enough food to provide for 40 meals. They consist of a variety of non-perishable food such as cornmeal, oatmeal, rice, fruit, peanut butter, jelly, shelf stable milk and canned vegetables, chili, soup and ravioli. Items may vary based upon their availability.
The emergency food boxes will be distributed on a first come, first served basis. When residents arrive at the site, they are be asked to keep their windows rolled up and to open their trunk. Volunteers will place one emergency food box into each vehicle.
This event will only provide boxes to cars. Buses will not be allowed to enter. In addition, people walking to the site cannot be assisted.
