Brian McKinley, Share My Meals Driver, and Justin Narisi, Sodexo Executive Chef at RWJUH Hamilton
March is National Nutrition Month
West Orange, N.J., March 25, 2025 – In honor of National Nutrition Month, RWJBarnabas Health announced that it is expanding its partnership with the Princeton-based nonprofit Share My Meals across the health system to help feed more New Jersey families struggling with hunger.
RWJBarnabas Health launched a pilot program last year at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) Somerset in which surplus meals from the cafeteria were donated to Share My Meals to help support local families experiencing food insecurity. The program yielded over 5,200 meals served, saved 3.25 tons of food, and avoided 29,300 pounds of carbon emissions in the first year.
“As a result of the successful pilot at RWJUH Somerset and in line with the health system’s mission to build and sustain a healthier New Jersey, we are pleased to extend the Share My Meals program in our hospitals across the state,” said Mark E. Manigan, President and CEO, RWJBarnabas Health. “As a health system, we are committed to addressing food insecurity as a social determinant of health, and through this partnership, we can further improve the health status of the communities we serve.”
Through this relationship with Share My Meals, each participating RWJBarnabas Health hospital has identified local partner organizations – such as a food pantry, soup kitchen, or other community-focused entity – to donate surplus meals to, ensuring that nutritious food reaches those in need.
Food insecurity is a well-documented, significant social determinant of health that has increased across New Jersey and the nation since the pandemic. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), nearly one in 10 New Jersey households reported in 2023, the last year for available data, that they lacked regular access to healthy, nutritious foods. Although New Jersey families continue to have greater access to healthy foods compared to the nation, food insecurity in the state increased from one in 12 households in 2022. Studies also show SNAP lifts the average income of beneficiaries by 75 percent to help pay for food and basic necessities and every $1 in redeemed SNAP benefits leads to $1.80 invested in local communities.
“We are excited to work with Share My Meals to make a difference in the lives of more and more families struggling to put food on the table,” said Barbara Mintz, MS, RDN, Senior Vice President, Social Impact and Community Investment, RWJBarnabas Health. “Together, we not only ensure excess food does not go to waste, but we are also able to provide families with nutritious meals to support their good health.”
The partnership with Share My Meals is part of RWJBarnabas Health’s broader efforts to address food insecurity in the communities it serves. Other initiatives include embedding SNAP Navigators in 12 of its hospitals and surrounding community-based organizations, The Beth Greenhouse and Farmers Market at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, Sadie Vickers Community Garden in South Toms River, Food Farmacies, Common Market Farm to Pantry deliveries, and Summer Feeding programs, among others.
“We are incredibly grateful to RWJBarnabas Health for their leadership and commitment to fighting food insecurity,” said Helene Lanctuit, CEO of Share My Meals. “By bringing on 12 donor sites across New Jersey, they are making it possible to provide more than 50,000 nutritious prepared meals each year to families in need. This partnership is a powerful example of how collaboration can turn surplus food into a lifeline for our communities while reducing waste and promoting sustainability.
For more information about RWJBarnabas Health’s Social Impact and Community Investment initiatives, visit https://www.rwjbh.org/why-rwjbarnabas-health-/social-impact/.
For more information about Share My Meals, visit www.sharemymeals.org.
About RWJBARNABAS Health
RWJBarnabas Health is New Jersey’s largest and most comprehensive academic health system, caring for more than five million people annually. Nationally renowned for quality and safety, the system includes 14 hospitals and 9,000 affiliated physicians integrated to provide care at more than 700 patient care locations.
RWJBarnabas Health partners with its diverse communities to build and sustain a healthier New Jersey. It provides patient-centered care in a compassionate and equitable manner and is the state’s largest safety-net provider and leader in addressing the social determinants of health. RWJBarnabas Health provides food to the hungry, housing for the homeless and economic opportunities to those most vulnerable.
RWJBarnabas Health’s commitment to enhancing access to care includes a transformative partnership with Rutgers University, including the Rutgers Cancer Institute — the state’s only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
RWJBarnabas Health is among New Jersey’s largest private employers, with more than 43,000 employees, contributing more than $5.5 billion to the state economy every year. For more information, visit www.RWJBH.org
About Share My Meals
Founded in January 2020, Share My Meals is a nonprofit organization based in Princeton, N.J., and active across New Jersey, dedicated to addressing food insecurity and the environmental impact of food waste by safely recovering and delivering healthy prepared meals to local communities. For more information about Share My Meals, please visit https://sharemymeals.org/.
