PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Food insecurity continues to be a problem for families in New Jersey. Now a state agency is seeking public input on root causes and possible solutions to ending hunger.
The New Jersey Economic Development Authority has extended a deadline to gather feedback on food insecurity. Tara Colton, executive vice president of special projects at the NJEDA, said there are some very important questions that need to be answered.
"What are the key drivers that impact a community being considered a food desert, but also what are the initiatives and ideas that have been developed here in the Garden State or around the country or world that we should consider supporting?" she asked.
Colton said defining a food desert is more than just evaluating proximity to a grocery store.
"If people have specific data sources we should be looking at, we want to know about them," she urged.
Anyone, from community members to food distribution and grocery experts, who wishes to share their thoughts are encouraged to do so on the NJEDA website by May 17. The feedback will guide the discussion on solutions.
One man already working on answers is farmer Fredric Byarm. He's developing a farm-to-home food delivery app for people in his hometown of Camden.
"We take the conveniences of an Instacart, Amazon Direct, or Whole Foods that are shipping parcels into the city. We just do the same thing and just make it affordable and available to people," he explained.
"So we're trying to get enough people on board to do our beta testing, so we can start working out the bugs, see how it works."
Byarm said it will be a monthly subscription service that offers free home delivery. He added growing the food himself in Salem County and working with partner farms helps keep costs down.
