There’s been real momentum in how our partnership work is evolving this year.

One way is through the CITRUS Initiative (Community-Integrated, Tailored, Responsive, Unique [Food] Solutions). It expands our work with organizations that are deeply rooted in their communities but don’t exactly fit within our food pantry or mobile programming models.

Since January, CITRUS has reached 3,056 families across 7 partnerships with organizations like Cougar Cares at Columbia High School, United Community Corporation, La Casa De Don Pedro, East Orange YMCA and Catholic Charities Refugee Support Services.

And it’s part of a broader season of growth that includes expanded mobile markets, more fresh food for partners, stronger SNAP resource coordination, and improved language access across programs.

Thank you for all you do to make this work possible!

With gratitude,

Robin Peacock

Executive Director

Your support keeps MEND connected and responsive. Here is a quick look at the growth of MEND on the Move, which includes mobile markets (i.e., free farmers markets) and home deliveries, to meet people where they are.

 Beginning February 1, 2026, major policy changes took effect, reshaping who qualifies for assistance.

To help partners and community members navigate these updates, MEND created a SNAP one-pager in collaboration with the Essex County Division of Family Assistance and Benefits and the Office of Public Health Management.

MEND also created a comprehensive SNAP toolkit to help communicate policy changes, available resources, and solutions to resource providers and community members.

These resources are yours to share far and wide. Let’s do this!

On April 28, MEND hosted a virtual SNAP Community Briefing for community members seeking a clearer picture of how these changes are affecting Essex County. Attendees heard how federal policy shifts are impacting neighbors, what families are experiencing, and, with your help, how MEND is responding to rising demand.

As Community Resource Specialist, Dalili Gonzalez, shared, “Right now, the focus is making sure people understand the changes and feel prepared. We’re still seeing hesitation in the immigrant community about eligibility, which is why building trust is important.”

Watch the briefing, here:

Thanks to NJEDA’s FEED NJ Grant, MEND is expanding support for six pantry partners in Newark’s Food Desert Communities.

For Franciscan Charities Soup Kitchen, that means twice as much fresh food for the 150 to 200 neighbors they serve at every distribution.

Launched in February 2026, MEND’s Language Access Program brings Spanish and Haitian Creole interpretation services to the pantry network, with monthly recurring services at New Hope Baptist Church of East Orange.

As one interpreter from Lakay Acces Sante shared: “Being able to serve and support Creole-speaking clients in a meaningful way was deeply rewarding.”

Every neighbor deserves to be welcomed in their own language. Now, more are.

Our pantry partner, Interfaith Food Pantry of the Oranges, connected us with a distributor who had pallets of donated strawberries in need of a home.

Here’s what happened next:

Fresh fruit reached partners across all of MEND’s programs, and a few new friends, too, including Human Needs Food Pantry and Montclair State Food Pantry. That is your network in action.

April is National Volunteer Month, and MEND celebrated in style.

From breakfast with Jespy House friends to a berry special evening of appreciation at the Hub, the whole month was a celebration of you:

Your time makes this work possible. Thank you for showing up, in every sense of the word.

MEND is hiring a Driver and Warehouse Assistant to play a key role in daily operations and food deliveries.

Please send both a resumé describing your relevant experience and a cover letter explaining why you’re interested in joining MEND to HR@mendnj.org with the subject: “Driver/Warehouse Assistant.”