Food pantries need support, not red tape
Editorial USA Today Network New Jersey
Editorial Board
..... It's not too late. But the plight of Clifton's Little Fee Pantries is threatening to become another case of bureaucracy getting in the way of a good idea.
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As detailed recently by NorthJersey.com staff writer Matt Fagan, the collections of sidewalk micro-pantires ahs run afoul of city regtulations htat treat the operation as if it were a commercial food retailer, creating major headaches for co-founder Donna Popowich and her fellow volunteers.
..... Poppowich and co-organizer Barbara James opened Clifton's first Little Free Pantry in 2024. the tiny cabinets, stocked with groceries and accessible 24/7, offer a hyper-local alternative for people who may not have the means or time to reach larger food banks. The kiosks have multiples since their debut, with new ones added outside School 11 and 17 in mid-June. [2026]
..... The effort was meant to help hungry neighbors, but it also had run into problems with the city.
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Storage has become a striking point. Popowich has kept donated food in her garage, but health inspectors raised concerns about housing it near paint cans as well as the risk of latticing pests.
..... Popowich eventually found a partner in the city's Boys & Girls Club, which agreed to hold the food n its premises. But the club also requires anyone visiting its property to be fingerprinted and undergo a background check, a burden Popowich didn't want to place on pantry volunteers. So she's been making multiple trips a day herself to drop off and collect food.
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Popowich has been waiting for the city to adopt a "carve-out" to its ordinances to reduce the regulatory burden. city Health Officer John Biegel acknowledged the benefit of the Little Free Pantries but said the city needs to upgrade its zoning to accommodate the program.
..... Despite promises and a recent zoning hearing, the process seems to be dragging along. Popowich told the city Council she fears that the parties will be "chainsawed" out of existence.
..... "I'm confused how we got to this point," she said. "I mean, the pantries were discussed and were
voted on by council in April 2024. We didn't put them up in the middle of the night. We didn't put them up at all. The DPW installed them, and our pantries weren't even the first pantries in Clifton."
..... The city, of course, has a legitimate responsibility to ensure the safety of food the pantries distribute. the Little Free Pantry in Fayetteville, Arkansas, which pioneered the micro-pantry movement and inspired the Clifton effort, notes on its website that it's critical to "follow appropriate channels to obtain permission and/or a permit if necessary."
..... But Popowich is not a food retailer and, as long as helaht standards are maintained, shouldn't be held to the same requirements as a local Acme or Walmart. Clifton should move quickly to update its ordinance as necessary. Other towns hat have hosted sidewalk pantries, from Fayettevill to Montclair, may offer good models.
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Along with regulatory requirements, could the city provide more help, perhaps airtight containers for Popowich to use to store donations? If the Boys & Girls Club provides too many logistical hurdles, perhaps another Clifton organization can step up with storage space?
..... A recent United Way report demonstrated how working families are finding it harder and harder to afford the basics in New Jersey. Nealy 40% of state households don't make enough to pay for the $116,000 "survival budget" of necessities for a four-person family, including housing, food and day care, the group found.
..... Hunger, meanwhile, is on the rise. As of 2023, about 12% of New Jersey residents - nearly 1.1 million - reported inconsistent access to adequate, nutritious food, state figures show.
..... We need innovate solutions to tackle those growing problems. Public officials should be in the business of removing red tape and figuring out how to further those efforts.