From Storage Container to Food Pantry

| The Youth Foundation of Jersey City seeks to provide the youth of Jersey City with high-quality educational, recreational, cultural, and community enrichment.  Established in 2013, the core mission of the Youth Foundation of Jersey City is to bring together a diverse community of 66 different ethnicities and ensure all young people have equitable access to a broad spectrum of Jersey City assets, resources and experiences.  The foundation seeks to help Jersey City youth navigate the challenges of today, achieve their personal and professional goals, and mature into strong community leaders and world citizens. 

HealthierJC + Youth Foundation of Jersey City

The Youth Foundation of Jersey City firmly believes that Building a Culture of Health means creating an inclusive environment where every individual, regardless of their background or life circumstance.  This includes addressing food insecurity, promoting health education, and fostering collaborations that empower communities to take charge of their health and well-being.  The foundation believes in the power of collective action to build a healthier Jersey City for all.

The initiatives and programs developed by the Youth Foundation of Jersey City align with the commitment of HealthierJC to health education and eliminating food insecurity among young people across all Jersey City neighborhoods.  Both HealthierJC and the foundation understand the importance of equitable access to nutritious food sources and the impact on physical health, mental health, academic achievement and life outcomes.

How was the Mini-Grant Used?

When the Youth Foundation of Jersey City adopted PS#33 in 2023, they needed a venue to launch a food pantry to serve both students and the local community.  With a bit of serendipity and innovative thinking, the foundation discovered an underused space in a shipping container located on the grounds of PS#33 that could be converted into a food pantry space.  

With the HealthierJC funding, the Youth Foundation of Jersey City first developed a contactor scope for work to build out the pantry, and hosted a Volunteer Event at PS#33 to kick off the work needed to prepare the container for construction.  Dozens of volunteers spent over 40 hours to clean the container from top to bottom and repurpose items either donated or already stored in the unit.  A contractor was then engaged to equip the container with shelving and electricity to receive, hold, and distribute food.

To plan for operations, the Youth Foundation of Jersey City also used some funds to collaborate with established Jersey City food pantry organizations and healthcare professionals to create easy and healthy meal plans, and formalize an approach to combat food insecurity for PS#33 and their families.

And once the transformation was complete, mini-grant dollars were used for a Grand Opening celebration to announce the PS#33 food pantry was open and ready to serve the community healthy, nutritious meals.  The pantry currently serves 350 students from 270 low-income families comprised of minorities, women, veterans, seniors, and individuals with disabilities. 

Making a Difference…

“This was amazing, one of our biggest projects. It’s a big, big deal.”
— Hollie Meyer, Executive Director, Youth Foundation of Jersey City.

Meyer said the foundation adopts a school every year, and installs a food pantry in that school.  One of the adopted schools was PS#33. “The school is very small,” Meyer said. “And when I went to visit, I saw that there was no room for a food pantry.  On the way home, I spotted a storage container on the property and called the principal.”

And the rest is history. “With HealthierJC’s funding, the foundation was able to get approval to use the container, outfit it, and launch.”

“It wasn’t easy,” Meyer said. “Don’t forget, we didn’t own the container. We had to send a proposal to the Board of Ed. It was their property, their container. We used half of it for the food pantry, and they kept the other half for storage.”

HealthierJC Outreach Coordinator Lisa Lombardi attended the grand opening and noted, “These students showed enormous creativity in taking an unused eyesore and transforming it into a vessel of hope.”

For more information, visit the Youth Foundation of Jersey City website at https://www.youthfoundationofjerseycity.org/.