The Interfaith Food Pantry of the Oranges, Inc. (IFPO) is a volunteer-powered, supplemental food pantry
helping to meet essential human needs of food-insecure residents living primarily in Orange, East Orange
and West Orange, NJ, with dignity and respect.
The IFPO is a collaboration among four faith-based congregations in Essex County — Congregation Beth El, Christ Church Short Hills, Congregation B’nai Jeshurun and Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel – with the support of many other dedicated individuals and organizations. The IFPO provides supplemental and emergency food primarily to food insecure residents of Orange, East Orange and West Orange on Wednesday mornings, except the first Wednesday of the month. The pantry’s warehouse and distribution center is located at 357 South Jefferson Street in Orange, NJ.
The IFPO has been serving the Oranges for nearly 30 years, growing tremendously from a small group that initially served 20-30 clients per week. The pantry now supports an average of 650 clients and their families each pantry week. This is double our weekly distribution prior to the pandemic. In 2023, the IFPO had 25,000 pantry visits, a 20% increase over our 2022 level. This work is done with the invaluable assistance of a large team of dedicated volunteers, who collectively offered more than 11,000 volunteer hours in 2023 alone.
The IFPO provides food, fresh produce, toiletries, diapering essentials, menstrual care products and other essentials. We emphasize healthy items such as fresh milk, eggs, and produce, which often means purchasing more than 600 units of these items. We also offer access to additional resources through the monthly presence of various groups that help clients understand available benefits, such as SNAP, WIC and health insurance. We partner with a healthcare organization to provide screenings and vaccinations throughout the year.
Our clients include single men/women, veterans, senior citizens, families with young children, new immigrants to this country, single parents and people with disabilities. Many individuals are employed but do not make sufficient income to meet their basic food needs. 46% of the individuals we assist are children. Our clients come from households where the primary spoken languages are Spanish, English and Haitian Creole.
We are supported by in-kind donations, monetary donations and food drives from our member congregations, businesses and private individuals as well as schools, clubs and other organizations.
The IFPO is an equal opportunity provider, a member of the MEND (Meeting Essential Needs with Dignity) Hunger Relief Network and a partner with the Community FoodBank of New Jersey. We also partner with local health providers to offer Covid and flu vaccines and other screenings on-site during distributions, so that clients can get two sets of services at the same time. Click here to watch the video about the partnership between RJWBarnabas and the IFPO. Click here to listen to pantry leaders speak with the NJ Office of the Food Security Advocate: "Stories from our Neighbors: Wednesday Mornings in the Oranges."
The IFPO prides itself on treating everyone who comes to us with dignity and respect.
Click here to view IFPO's Respect & Dignity Policy.
For the most up-to-date information about our activities, distributions and local partners, visit our Facebook Page.
Click here to see pictures from our Food Truck Fundraiser in June 2024.
