COVID-19: Interfaith Pantry Increases Storage Space as Need for Food Soars in Health Crisis

Published on June 01, 2020

Morris County Households Seeking Food Quadruples During COVID-19

The Interfaith Food Pantry will undertake a major project to increase storage capacity at its Parsippany warehouse, a need made obvious by the four-fold increase in families seeking food during the current COVID-19 crisis.

Interfaith Food Pantry will do some major reorganizing next week to increase storage space.

The Pantry has served 8,000 households and distributed more than half a million pounds of food so far this year.

This is a crucial project taking place at an opportune time for us, said Carolyn Lake, Executive Director of IFP. "Our donors and community partners have been extremely supportive and helping us keep up with the (food) demand."

But the Pantry requires the ability to properly store those valuable food supplies.

The storage capacity project will take place next week, from June 15-19, at the main warehouse in Parsippany (at the Morris Plains border), at 2 Executive Drive in Central Park of Morris County.

Food distribution will continue take place throughout the project at both the main warehouse as well as at 190 Speedwell Ave., Morristown. Groups planning to conduct large-scale food drives are asked to to avoid deliveries that week.

Individual, smaller donations will be accepted at nearby St. Virgil Church, 250 Speedwell Ave., Morris Plains, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The project will increase storage by about 60 percent within the existing 8,000-square-foot warehouse by disassembling and re-configuring pallet racks inside the storage facility.

• Materials and labor, along with a specially designed forklift have been donated by Highlander Equipment Company in Somerset and Frazier Industrial Equipment of Long Valley.
• Wegmans will donate the use of an onsite trailer.
• Additional support for the project has been granted by Family Promise of Morris County and the Morris County Department of Human Services.

As soon as I saw their facility, I knew we could make improvements that would help accommodate their growing needs, said William Martin, President of Highlander Equipment. We are very happy to help out and to do our part in making a difference.

The Interfaith Food Pantry is a non-profit organization helping families make ends meet by providing emergency and supplemental food during times of need or crisis. In 2019 the IFP distributed more than 1.2 million pounds of food, feeding more than 33,000 Morris County residents.

For more information, visit www.mcifp.org.