Healthy Eating and Preventive Screenings
The mission of Leaders Without Limits of NJ (LWL) is to fight hunger and improve the lives of families through food distribution, health and education.
It was founded as a home-based child services organization in 2012. Then in 2018, Leaders Without Limits services expanded to refocus on the greater needs of the community, like hunger, clothing, special needs, and chronic illness. As part of this work, Leaders Without Limits started the “Feed the Community Program” for free weekly food distribution. This progressively led to providing several free year-round services, like coat/clothing drives, toy distribution, prepared hot meals, kids summer camp, and health screenings.
HealthierJC + Leaders Without Limits
Leaders Without Limits believes that Building a Culture of Health means empowering individuals to take control of their health by creating smarter eating habits and educating themselves about how to monitor and prevent chronic diseases.
For many Jersey City residents, bad eating habits and limited access to fresh foods and medical screenings. Leaders Without Limits takes steps to intervene, identify and help remedy high risk medical conditions in underserved Jersey City communities. Leaders Without Limits and HealthierJC share a common goal to improve health outcomes for all families, irrespective of their economic or social standing in the community.
How was the Mini-Grant Used?
With the HealthierJC mini-grant, Leaders Without Limits was able to expand its health and nutrition program to distribute fresh and organic produce to a broader population. And an additional day was added to the food pantry, which offers produce, dry goods, and meat products free of charge.
Given the expansion of free community food programs, Leaders Without Limits was also able to increase registrations for diabetes and hypertension screenings. To encourage registration, video testimonials were played at food events from previous years, and preregistration forms were emailed to neighborhood residents in July 2023. In partnership with Summit Healthcare, more than 70 individuals were enrolled for screenings and health monitoring over the next 12 months.
In 2023, Leaders Without Limits used the mini-grant to serve some 2,000 families and individuals at its 63 Martin Luther King Drive location. Those served included minorities, women, veterans, seniors, individuals with disabilities, and low-income residents in Ward A.
Making a Difference…
“Our mission is to help clients better themselves, make a better life for their families, and pass on a legacy
to their children, teaching them how to grow and become better individuals.”
—Sharon D. Lockett, Founder, Leaders Without Limits
Lockett sees Leaders Without Limits, “as a one-stop shop where clients come not only to get food but to empower themselves to grow and get things done on their own and understand how to go about it.” Those skills include budgeting, resume-building, and how to conduct themselves in interviews.
Future plans include providing clients access to mental health services, and acquiring vehicles and an indoor space that can accommodate increasing community outreach and coaching services free of charge.
For more information, visit Leaders Without Limits.