West Orange, N.J.-based RWJBarnabas Health is tackling local food insecurity across the state by establishing food hub locations in partnership with nonprofits, businesses and farmers, according to a Dec. 8 news release shared with Becker's.
The Food Hubs Initiative aims to expand food access by creating distribution lines between communities and farmers, educating residents on nutrition, and working to increase access to government subsidies. Currently, there are seven pilot hub locations across Newark and Brunswick, with additional locations to come.
"As we've seen exemplified throughout the pandemic, food insecurity is ultimately a problem of distribution and access, not necessarily lack of food production," said Barbara Mintz, senior vice president of healthy living and community engagement at RWJBarnabas. "Our goal with the hub is to close those gaps in the supply chain and eradicate the economic, geographic, and social barriers to fresh, healthy food."
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