There are 17,000 individuals living below the poverty line in Somerset County. That’s a fact. Basking Ridge resident Widette Fox has been working since 2021 to help support food-insecure families among this population.

The Somerset County Foodbank’s Backpack Program offers additional groceries for weekends and school breaks to families in need. Fox heads up an effort to assemble healthy, easy-to-prepare meals for kids that are discreetly distributed by school nurses to those who sign up. Today, more than 1,600 bags are distributed to 25 elementary schools in the county. Along with her team of volunteers, three schools for students with disabilities help to pack bags on a weekly basis.

Backpack Program volunteers do everything from managing inventory for items to be distributed, to staging bag assemblies, supervising private schools and coordinating philanthropic events provided by corporate donors. 

For more information about the Backpack Program and the Somerset County Food Bank, please visit:  https://www.somersetfoodbank.org

Each month, The BTDC Beat will feature community members doing various good works. Please feel free to share your efforts, big and small, with us via email.