I’m from Joisey!

It would be best if New Jersey, where I live, had taxation, social and economic policies that encouraged economic growth instead of discouraging it, but it doesn’t. And it is ironic that those most vulnerable to bad economic policy routinely vote into office the people most responsible for the policies that contribute to their misery time and time again. That doesn’t mean, however, that if people, our neighbors, are going hungry in what is still an environment of historically, and absolutely, phenomenal bounty, we should as humans and citizens stand by and watch.

New Jersey is called the Garden State because it once had a lot farms, of course. Recent estimates are that it still has 4.7 times more agriculture than you think. And please do not confuse me with the facts on this point! Not surprisingly, however, there are a lot of people in my home state who don’t have enough to eat.

A quarter of a million people in New Jersey depend on the generosity of their fellow citizens to meet their dietary needs. The Community Food Bank of New Jersey reports that requests for food have gone up 30 percent, but donations are down by 25 percent. Its warehouse shelves, typically stocked with food, are bare, and for the first time in its 25-year history, the Food Bank is developing a rationing mechanism.

For that reason I’m participating in this campaign among bloggers in my state to encourage support of New Jersey food banks, sponsored by the Community Food Bank of New Jersey. It’s a non-partisan effort. This Monday, December 15, we’re trying to get 100 New Jersey-based bloggers to post in support of the Food Bank. This has been coordinated by Deb Smith of Jersey Bites, and she, incidentally, is still looking for participant bloggers.

With the number of families across the country counting on churches and food banks to feed their families increasing at astronomical rates this year, the Food Bank needs our help now more than ever. So, help.