The pantry works to provide quality food for families who live, work or worship in Burlington Township.
Approximately one in seven New Jersey children lives in food-insecure households, meaning they don’t always know from where their next meal is coming.
One in five New Jersey families doesn’t earn enough to afford basic necessities, such as food and housing, according to the Burlington Township Food Pantry, an organization that is working to end that.
The Burlington Township Food Pantry provides quality food for families who live, work or worship in Burlington Township. The nonprofit, all-volunteer organization feeds between 70 and 75 families each week. Around the holidays, the pantry feeds as many as 115 families. Food distribution is every Wednesday from 9 to 11 a.m.
“We get a lot of requests to volunteer, and we really appreciate our volunteers, but because food distribution is during the day, most kids are in school and most people are at work,” pantry vice president Brenda Bodine said. “Mostly the way we use our volunteers is at our events and to do things like food drives.”
The pantry runs two major events every year — the Race for the Hungry Holiday 5K run in December and the Souper Trivia night in February.
While based out of the Burlington Center Mall, the pantry is in search of a permanent home. Bodine says she hopes the pantry will be out of the mall within the next year. The pantry is also looking for a new home for Souper Trivia, as it sold out more than a month before the event this year with no advertising.
The pantry doesn’t just distribute canned goods — families in need can also get meat, fruit and vegetables. Most meat and produce come from the Food Bank of South Jersey, but many of the canned items come from local food drives.
“A lot of it is donated through food drives, through people just dropping things off, through the schools,” Bodine said, adding a school outside Burlington Township recently did a drive for the pantry.
“We’re trying to broaden the awareness that we’re here and what we’re doing outside of Burlington Township,” Bodine said. “We try to be very involved and out there so people see us.”
To donate to the pantry, drop by during Wednesday distribution hours or call (888) 847–3278. The pantry is in need of canned vegetables, tuna, peanut butter, jelly and spaghetti sauce, but will accept most items.
The pantry typically uses 10 volunteers for weekly distribution, but for big events such as the Souper Trivia night, it uses up to 40 volunteers. Those interested in volunteering can email BTFPfriends@gmail.com. If you or someone you know needs food, contact the pantry to learn more about qualifications.
“You never know when it could be you,” Bodine said. “You never know when you’re going to lose your job and have some medical emergency and it takes all your funds and you’ve got nothing. It could be any one of us at any time.”
