Interfaith Neighbors Inc

Interfaith Neighbors is leading a collaboration among area food pantries and local farmers called the Community Food Connection. This two year pilot initiative focuses on providing free, seasonal, farm-fresh produce to 300 families for 25 weeks each year from May through October via a network of 12 participating food pantries, the Asbury Park Senior Center, and local youth-serving non-profit agencies. The Community Food Connection collaboration has brought together area food pantries for the first time. Now, rather than competing for limited food resources, they are sharing overstocked products. They are communicating around common needs and beginning to advocate for their clients as a group. And, by directly providing fresh produce to families in need, we are directly helping to build healthier and more equitable communities.

Sponsor a Family's Produce! 

$25 - Two Weeks of Produce       $100 - Two Months of Produce

$50 - One Month of Produce       $250 - Five Months of Produce

Beginning in June 2022, IFN is purchasing farm-fresh produce weekly from local, family-owned NJ farms. Each week, the purchase includes 3-5 different types of fruits and/or vegetables, depending on the current harvest. The produce is delivered to the Asbury Park community and distributed each week through our local food pantry partners to 300 families. A local restaurant has donated refrigeration space for produce storage each week until each pantry is able to pick up their weekly produce allocation. With the help of a volunteer nutritionist/dietician, a fact sheet is prepared and distributed with the produce that includes nutrition information and recipes. We are also providing cooking demonstrations at pantry locations.

People who frequent food pantries live below the poverty line and find it difficult to access federal food benefits and farm fresh produce. Most pantries struggle to secure fresh produce for distribution to their clients. Research shows that unhealthy diets contribute to negative life outcomes, including impaired growth in children and chronic health conditions like obesity and diabetes. This project also supports local, family-owned farms.

Our Mission

To assist those less fortunate among us to meet life’s basic necessities, while seeking to improve the quality of life for individuals and families and the communities in which they live.  Over the years, our services have grown to now include seven distinct programs serving all of Monmouth County, NJ including: Rental & Mortgage Assistance, Senior Nutrition and Meals on Wheels, Affordable Housing, Neighborhood Revitalization, the Launch Center, Kula Urban Farms and the Building Healthier More Equitable Communities Initiative.

Interfaith Neighbors, Inc. (IFN) works with individuals and families to address barriers to a living a healthy, economically stable, fulfilling life. 

- Each year IFN assists over 500 families return to financial stability with our Rental & Mortgage Assistance program.

- Every day, IFN prepares and delivers 1,100 meals to the doorsteps of senior citizens across Monmouth County, helping them stay in their own homes longer and ensuring they receive the nutrition they need to maintain their health. 

- A good job is the pillar for financial stability.  IFN's Launch Center programs help all kinds of job seekers. For young adults looking to land their first job, those returning to the workforce, those looking to move into a career pathway, and those interested in starting or growing their own business for success, the Launch Center helps them on the way to economic success. 

- As a licensed NJ homebuilder, IFN has constructed over 60 units of affordable housing, primarily in the Westside neighborhood of Asbury Park, NJ. 

- IFN focuses its community revitalization efforts on the Westside neighborhood of Asbury Park, leading community planning and engagement efforts, implementing social and capital projects in response to community needs. 

- The Building Healthier More Equitable Communities Initiative focuses on the social determinants of health and explores programmatic and policy inequities in the communities we serve. The Community Food Connection is an outcome of this work.