This holiday season, instead of holding our usual winter food drive, Neighborhood Compost is doubling down on supporting the communities closest to home—our local New Jersey farmers. With the ever-evolving challenges of climate change, it's clear that farmers' middle names might as well be "pivot". The recent drought, that stretched over 40 days without rain, has underscored just how resilient—and adaptable—our local farmers are.
With that in mind, we decided to take action. As part of our mission to connect local, underserved New Jersey communities with nourishing, farm-fresh food, we’ve launched a donation initiative aimed at putting healthy, locally grown produce on the tables of families in need this holiday season. It’s simple to get involved: donations can be made through our Neighborhood Compost Circular Home Shop - just type in any North New Jersey address to get started.
Since launching this effort, our incredible composting community has raised nearly $3,000 to help provide farm-fresh food to local food pantries. We are carefully sourcing nutrient-dense produce and goods from across the state, ensuring we support our hardworking farmers while also addressing food insecurity in our communities.
A Thanksgiving Delivery to Remember
Our first delivery took place this past weekend, where we had the privilege of supporting Shana and her team at A Better Market in Paterson, NJ. They are preparing 300 food bags to distribute to families in need this holiday season. For this round, we sourced a beautiful array of produce:
Squashes, apples, and peppers from Best’s Fruit Farm in Hackettstown
A variety of fresh mushrooms from LifeCap Farms in Jersey City
Sweet, raw honey from Top of the Mountain Bee Farm in Wantage
This bounty of goodness was all packed up and delivered to Shana’s team, just in time for their pre-Thanksgiving food distribution.
The Journey from Our Car to the Community
As with any good farm-to-table story, ours had a few unexpected twists. On the way to Paterson with over 1,500 pounds of produce in my car, the engine started to overheat. After a tow truck, a car swap, and passing bushels of apples and squash down an impromptu assembly line on the side of the highway, we finally transferred the produce to my dad’s car and got it to Shana in Paterson. Despite the bumps along the way, we made it, and I was even able to make it to my wedding gig that evening (yes, I’m a professional musician who started Neighborhood Compost in 2020!).
We will be delivering a second round of food to our non-profit partners at nourish.NJ in Dover and Morristown this December, so there’s still time to contribute! If you’d like to support this effort, please visit our website to make a donation.
A Family Affair
This project has been a true family effort, and I’m so proud of the teamwork that went into making these deliveries happen. Below is a photo of my dad, celebrating our first successful delivery of produce to Shana. It’s moments like these that remind us how much can be accomplished when we come together to support one another.
From my family to yours, we wish you a very joyful and nourishing holiday season.
How to Donate: If you’d like to help provide nourishing, locally grown food to New Jersey families in need, please visit our Neighborhood Compost Circular Home Shop and donate today!
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