a 501(c)(3) Organization
Fighting Food Insecurity in New Jersey
What a day! Thank you to all of the people that came to watch the game! We love our community.
Strikeout Hunger NJ All-Stars and Del Val Teachers/Staff set single-game collection record at Alexandria AutumnFest 2021. Read our Story!
Message from the President
November 24, 2020
2020 has been a hard year. We’ve lost friends, neighbors, and relatives, frequently without even being able to say goodbye. Even if you have been mostly spared by COVID, our economy has taken a hit. Many of our local businesses are struggling and too many have closed.
It’s been a year of disappointments. We’ve missed birthday parties and weddings. Our celebrations from St. Patrick’s Day to July 4 and now Thanksgiving have at best been dramatically downscaled, or canceled outright. The Strike Out Hunger Softball Tournament was also a casualty of 2020. Schools have moved to partial or even fully online instruction.
Our day-to-day lives have been turned upside down and even if we are fortunate and still employed,
many of us work from home without that daily contact and camaraderie. Riding on the back of this
isolation, uncertainty for the future, and economic chaos, the specter of hunger looms large.
Strike Out Hunger NJ is a 501(c)(3) organization. Donors can deduct contributions under IRC Section 170.
Checks can be made payable to:
“Strike Out Hunger NJ”
We fight for people who are Food Insecure all year long and need your help.
Please donate.
Thank you to our SPONSORS
Bob White - President
Strike Out Hunger NJ
Statistics that were already shameful for a country of our wealth have reached frightening proportions. Per the latest estimates from Feeding America, as many as 50 million Americans are facing hunger this year and 17 million are children.
It isn’t just children suffering.
SOHNJ has been a supporter of Meals on Wheels since our founding, both with financial grants from the organization as well as personal support from our members. Meals on Wheels relies heavily on local volunteer groups for their Blizzard Bag program, which is an emergency bag meal in case of bad weather. With these groups not able to meet, the bags have not been assembled. As we have learned, the elderly are particularly at risk from both this awful disease and the hunger it has brought. In spite of all the problems, I can thank COVID for reaffirming my belief in the basic decency of people, particularly in our area. From weekly runs to bring food to our local pantries to donations that just show up in our mailbox, you have responded. The generosity of those who have donated – sometimes without knowing if they have a job in a month – has been incredible. And now vaccines and the hope they bring are coming.
But we have a long six months between us and the predictions of when the vaccines will be widely distributed. The economic impacts of COVID will also not disappear just because a shot is available. Since the last major economic setback in 2008, it took almost 10 years for the numbers of food insecure to drop to pre-2008 levels.
You can help. Not just with money, although that is always appreciated. Check with your local food pantries. Find out what they need, and that includes your time. I firmly believe we can change the world, and to do so we only need to start in our backyard.
Stay safe.
The birth of a noble mission: Game 1 in 2014. Tournament organizer Bob White, Frenchtown Mayor Warren Cooper, Milford Mayor Jim Gallos, and Tournament organizer Charlie White
In the fall of 2013, Milford residents Charlie and Bob White met with Frenchtown Mayor Warren Cooper to propose a challenge softball game – Milford vs. Frenchtown – to benefit local food pantries. In May of the following year, the two teams met in what would be the start of Strikeout Hunger NJ, although it would be another five years before the game expanded to include other towns. In those five years, the two municipalities would raise over two and a half tons of food for the pantries in Frenchtown and Milford. They would also increase the awareness that hunger is real, and it isn’t just in third-world countries. It lives here, in New Jersey, within our communities, and with our neighbors.
our
Mission
Current statistics from FeedingAmerica.org put the number of people who are food insecure in Hunterdon County at almost 8,000. That number includes seniors, children, and employed but underpaid. Many households are but one paycheck or one serious medical condition away from being food insecure, and the numbers are rising.
No one should have to go to bed hungry at night, and no child should ever have to wonder when they will get their next meal, particularly in a country as wealthy as this one. Even if we cannot stop hunger altogether, our mission is to fill the local food pantries, so those struggling to survive in our area have access to the necessities of food and household goods.
How does Strike Out Hunger NJ meet our goal of battling food insecurity and raising awareness:
Funds are raised from our annual softball tournaments and throughout the year which is shared with local organizations to help battle food insecurity in our area. Some recipients have included:
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Meals on Wheels of Hunterdon County - Blizzard Bag Program
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Norwescap, Phillipsburg, NJ
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The Village Pantry at PCOM - Milford, NJ
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The Presbyterian Church of Frenchtown Food Pantry
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The Family Harvest Success Center, Flemington NJ - Annual Veggiepallooza
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United Way of Hunterdon County - Flemington Fire Victims 11/23/21
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The Outreach Connection, Califon, NJ - Freezers for pantry
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Firth Youth Center - Phillipsburg, NJ - Seven-day/week lunch program