Mile-Long Line Of Cars For Free Food At Meadowlands YMCA – Patch.com

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — On Tuesday of this week, the Meadowlands YMCA in East Rutherford handed out boxes of free food — and the line of cars to receive the donations was more than a mile long.

The Meadowlands YMCA started doing the food giveaways in March, when the pandemic first began. The need is “alarming,” say those who work there. People came from Hudson County, southern Bergen and even Essex County; some waited in line seven hours to receive the food.

The YMCA does no “means testing” for who can get the meals, meaning if one is willing to wait that long for a box of food, they must really need it.

Inside the boxes was dairy, meat and fresh produce. Last week, they gave out holiday meals that include turkeys, chickens and side dishes. The Y partners with Community Food Bank of New Jersey and Table to Table.

They did two food pick-ups, at 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., and by the time Tuesday was done, the Y had handed out more than 40,000 meals.

“This is a frightening milestone, and the sheer numbers of meals we have been distributing to these families shows that the need isn’t going away, and in fact the demand is increasing,” said Meadowlands YMCA President and CEO David Kisselback. “There hasn’t been a single food distribution event where we’ve had meals left over.”

“Every single truck is emptied, and every single meal is handed out to a family in need,” he added.

The need is huge right now, but in reality, the YMCA needs donations to survive every year — and also volunteers. There’s also a fear the Y won’t be able to continue the same level of service without more outside support.

The Meadowlands YMCA relies heavily on support from local businesses and private citizens. There is still an urgent need for funding to continue operations and provide the service to the Meadowlands community. For more information please contact Amanda Scully at ascully@meadowlandsymca.org or 201-955-5300 for more on the Y’s efforts and how to donate and support their efforts.

The Meadowlands YMCA is located on Murray Hill Parkway in East Rutherford.

This story is part of Patch’s Headlining Hope series, which profiles local non-profits and charitable organizations in need of volunteers and resources. If you know about a local organization that should be profiled, contact Carly.baldwin@patch.com.