Members of the New Jersey Food Council (NJFC) are distributing 100,000 facial coverings to their workforce as part of the state’s re-opening strategy.

NJFC is working with the state Office of Emergency Management and Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (NJOHSP) to hand out masks, with 50,000 cloth facial coverings now being provided to members for distribution within hundreds of supermarkets, independent grocers and convenience stores. Another 50,000 masks are anticipated in the coming weeks.

“NJOHSP has been steadfast in our efforts to provide PPE to essential workers supporting communities across New Jersey during this pandemic,” said Jared M. Maples, NJOHSP Director. “This collaborative effort alongside the New Jersey Food Council and the Office of Emergency Management helps ensure employees have the supplies needed to safely keep our state’s food supply moving.”

The federal government has sent New Jersey a total of 470,000 masks, noting they are washable and reusable PPE.

“As part of the state’s critical infrastructure, the New Jersey Food Council is pleased to have this opportunity to receive a significant allotment of masks from this direct federal assistance plan for our lifeline industry,” said Linda Doherty, NJFC President & CEO. “We believe its a substantial effort in the mass distribution of coverings that help protect shoppers and employees.”

“As COVID-19 has greatly impacted the grocery shopping experience, New Jersey is allowing SNAP participants to use an online shopping platform for contactless grocery shopping. Starting this week, New Jersey SNAP customers can use the click and collect approach at participating grocery outlets. This is a convenient tool for customers who participate in this lifeline program amid stay-at-home orders.

“SNAP is dedicated to feeding New Jersey’s hungry, especially in times of crisis and economic uncertainty. The collaboration between federal and state officials and the food industry to fast track this digital solution will allow easy access for participants as more NJ supermarkets are accepted into the program. This global pandemic has caused an explosion of growth in eCommerce grocery sales; SNAP participants can now finally benefit.”

Gov. Phil Murphy has named the President & CEO of the New Jersey Food Council (NJFC) to the “Governor’s Restart and Recovery Advisory Council” as the state’s nine major industries kick-start the economy this week.

“As we take the nascent steps needed to return to economic vibrancy, I am eager to highlight the perspective of the food industry and supply chain challenges,” said Linda Doherty. “Over the past two months, our NJFC membership has served on the front lines of this global pandemic, ensuring New Jersey families have access to the food, nutrition and supplies they need, as well as creating a solid pipeline of job opportunities for those who became unemployed.

“From our unique vantage point, this is an opportunity to share with my fellow council members the key initiatives that will strengthen the food supply chain as the state gets back on its feet as quickly as possible,” added Doherty, assigned to the Manufacturing and Supply Chain Committee. “I appreciate the governor’s faith in me and I look forward to serving as a knowledgable resource from the perspective of the business community.”

Late last week, Murphy signed an executive order to create this “boots on the ground” advisory council that brings together leaders from various industries, communities and faith-based groups.

Among the council members are two other leaders in the food industry: Joe Sheridan serves as President & COO of Wakefern Food Corp., the state’s largest private employer, selling under the banners of ShopRite, Price Rite Marketplace and Fresh Grocer.  The governor also tapped Campbell Soup Company General Counsel Adam Ciongoli, who oversees the company’s legal department, government affairs, security, corporate responsibility & sustainability groups. 

“With this task force we are bringing together some of the sharpest minds our state and nation have to offer,” Murphy said. “As I have said from the start, public health creates economic health and these individuals will help us decide when and how to restart the economy to best benefit both.”

Taking into account the unique facets of New Jersey’s economy and society, the advisory council comprises nine separate committees. They represent government, health care, Main Street businesses, manufacturing and supply chain, professional services, social services and faith, tourism and entertainment, transportation and infrastructure.

The all-volunteer council is chaired by New Jersey Economic Development Authority President & Chief Executive Officer Tim Sullivan, Choose NJ President & CEO Jose Lozano and the state’s higher education secretary, Zakiya Smith Ellis.

The co-chairs of the Advisory Council are authorized to call upon any department, office, division, or agency in the state for public data and information, as well as any personnel or other assistance, as part of the council’s work in the coming weeks.

The Shelby Report shared the announcement to national partners.

The New Jersey Food Council (NJFC) has launched statewide a statewide effort to ensure that the state’s grocery and food retail stores remain a critical lifeline for both employees and shoppers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

NJFC says the  statewide communication blitz is providing much needed information and resources to New Jersey shoppers and the food industry workforce, ensuring all are equipped to navigate through the grocery experience under government mandates during this global emergency.

“The sudden outbreak and dramatic impact of the coronavirus created panic, empty store shelves and uncertainty amongst shoppers and grocery workers,” said Linda Doherty, president and CEO of NJFC. “We realized there was no playbook so it was necessary to work closely with our government partners, rally behind the challenges of the food industry, inform the public and support our workforce.”

The result has been a series of communication initiatives over the course of the last several weeks to raise awareness and to ensure shoppers understand the new temporary requirements when they visit their local grocery store and interact with store employees, who New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy describes as “mission critical.”

Initiatives include:

• The development and widespread distribution of 10 Safe Shopping Tips, which have been published in mainstream and trade media, as well as promoted on social media channels for NJFC, its members, its vendors and its supporters.

These tips include the latest government mandates, as well as best practices. Shoppers and food workers are required to wear facial coverings. The NJFC urges customers to shop alone to reduce crowds and to practice social distancing. Other key tips for shoppers: Use your eyes to inspect items, not your hands. Also, discard gloves, wipes and masks in the trash.

• Promotion of the #ClothCoverChallenge. After the State of New Jersey mandated that all New Jersey customers and employees must wear a cloth face covering, NJFC took to Twitter to engage customers to create their own cloth covering, with a little bit of fun, participating in the #ClothCoverChallenge on social media.
• NJFC has launched a statewide public service announcement, which is now being broadcast on most New Jersey airwaves, from statewide broadcast news to local stations. The 30-second spots, in partnership with the New Jersey Broadcasters Association, explains ways in which shoppers and employees can remain safe, as they follow the new government mandates.
• NJFC is working to connect people with jobs. In partnership with the Office of the Governor, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and the New Jersey Restaurant & Hospitality Association, the NJFC developed programs and resources including a Jobs & Hiring Portal for hospitality talent and others out of work to apply for jobs and to promote job openings in food stores during this crisis.
• Placement of opinion-editorials in New Jersey media, underscoring the importance of shopper and worker safety, as well as the need to keep single-use plastic bags in stores and discourage reusable bags as a temporary way in which to keep employees safe.
• Placed a statewide banner ad on the TAPInto news network, comprising hyperlocal news websites in 75 New Jersey municipalities, generating more than 1 million readers a month. The ad, with a hyperlink to the New Jersey Food Council, urges shoppers to property discard of PPE.
• Distributed on social media a special message from Murphy. The governor produced a video to express his appreciation to grocery store workers who he considers “a vital part of our front-line emergency response team and mission critical” to feeding 9 million New Jersey residents.

“We are thankful to Gov. Murphy for acknowledging the vital role of grocery workers who are on the front line and the center of our statewide communication campaign,” Doherty said. “It is so critical at this moment for our dedicated workforce to know they are appreciated for their tireless efforts to keep this lifeline open for New Jersey residents.”

New Jersey’s food retail industry is perplexed and stunned at the barrage of attacks by some environmentalists on our request to temporarily pause bans on single-use bags during the COVID-19 public health emergency. The suggestion that this is somehow a nefarious master plan to undermine bag bans is a farfetched conspiracy theory peddled by extremists who ignore the truth when it is most convenient for them.

The New Jersey Food Council has been the only business trade association to support a statewide ban on single-use plastic and paper bags and had been working in partnership with these same environmental groups just a few weeks ago to achieve this goal. With the COVID-19 outbreak, our efforts were diverted to developing recommended best practices to assist grocers and their workforce function as an essential business during this unprecedented time.

One of the many proposed policies is for the handful of New Jersey towns to temporarily suspend their single-use bag bans. States like Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, Illinois, as well as cities like San Francisco, have paused their bans on single-use bags, and for good reason.

We know that only about 3% of shoppers actually clean their reusable bags, and a study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that COVID-19 can survive on plastic surfaces up to 3 days. Store employees staffing the checkout lines and interacting with customers simply do not want to touch a customer’s reusable bags in fear that these bags are harboring the invisible COVID-19 virus.

Stores have been taking extraordinary steps to ease their employee concerns, and some have banned their employees from handling reusable bags, requiring customers to bag their own groceries. But for those customers who refuse to self-bag or are unable to do so because of physical limitations, employees have no choice but to handle the reusable bags since single-use paper and plastic bags are not readily available in areas where bans exist.

This simple request to help our stores function during a global public health emergency is blasphemy to New Jersey’s environmental lobbyists. Activist organizations like the Sierra Club, Environment New Jersey and Clean Water Action could care less about the health and safety of workers; they were outraged by the idea of pausing a few local ordinances.

These same tone-deaf lobbyists also have no sympathy for those facing financial hardship as a result of the pandemic. Many of these local ordinances that the New Jersey Food Council is asking a temporary reprieve from place fees on single-use bags, meaning customers without reusable bags pay for every single-use paper or plastic bag. Asking someone who just lost their job, is depending on food assistance programs, or might be facing reduced hours to pay a quarter for a bag is just kicking people while they are down.

The policy purists fail to recognize that protecting the public health and providing economic relief in a time of crisis doesn’t have to be at odds with efforts to stem the flood of plastics. We will have time to pursue a statewide program once this crisis is over. For now, the paramount concern must be the health, safety, and economic security of customers and our workforce.

And, for those environmentalists who like to throw grenades from the safety of their living rooms, I invite them to make a true difference: Work in a grocery store. We need every set of able hands we can get.