^{Description: Rescued meals from Rowan University, packaged in the reusable trays provided by Share My Meals / Photo credit: Share My Meals}

How Share My Meals and Food Connect are working together to reduce food waste and expand access to nutritious, prepared meals in New Jersey.

Twice a week, Food Connect driver Terron Nelson loads dozens of trays of freshly prepared surplus meals into his vehicle at Rowan University in Southern New Jersey. Containers filled with dishes like roasted chicken, vegetables, and pasta are carefully packed in reusable trays, part of a thoughtfully designed system to reduce waste at every step and keep materials in circulation. Within minutes, he’s on the road, heading toward his drop-off destination.

It’s a routine that now runs smoothly. But not long ago, this route was at risk of stopping altogether.

Without a consistent way to transport the food, the future of these deliveries was uncertain. That uncertainty didn’t just affect logistics, it affected people. At The Unforgotten Haven, a local organization serving hundreds of individuals and families each day, these meals are an important part of how they support their community. Beyond food distribution, the organization provides a range of services, from housing support to basic necessities, helping people meet immediate needs while working toward stability. Losing this route would have meant fewer nutritious, prepared meals for families who rely on them.

Today, those meals continue to arrive reliably to community members who convene at The Unforgotten Haven. That consistency is the result of a partnership built on shared values and complementary strengths.

A connection rooted in shared purpose

In the fall of 2025, leaders from both Food Connect and Share My Meals, along with many other local partners, attended a meeting of the Food & Health Equity Coalition of Essex County. As they learned more about each other’s work, it became clear that their approaches aligned in purpose and could complement each other in practice. Both organizations were working toward a shared goal of reducing food waste, feeding people, and strengthening communities, and both were looking for opportunities to meet increasing needs.

Food Connect Newark officially launched in October 2025, during a moment of heightened urgency and joining long-standing local efforts to strengthen access to nutritious food with reliability, dignity and care. From the outset, our focus has been on strengthening the coordination and transportation infrastructure that helps food move reliably to where it is needed most, using an approach grounded in listening, learning, and building alongside trusted community organizations already doing vital work across the region.

That vision resonated with Share My Meals. 

Founded in 2020 in Princeton, New Jersey, the organization focuses on recovering surplus prepared meals from corporate cafeterias and institutions like universities, schools, and hospitals, ensuring those meals reach community partners instead of going to waste. As a connector in the food system, Share My Meals works with a wide network of corporations and nonprofit organizations across New Jersey to coordinate the safe and timely redistribution of meals.

Underpinning that work is a strong commitment to reducing waste at every stage of the process. In New Jersey alone, an estimated 350,000 tons of prepared food is overproduced each year, the vast majority of which ends up in our landfills. 

“In addition to addressing food insecurity, our program has a real impact on the environment by reducing waste throughout the entire process” said Hélène Lanctuit, “There are so many surplus meals that can be safely recovered and redistributed, making it easy for food service providers is where we bring the most value.”

While both Food Connect and Share My Meals are grounded in the same mission, their models differ in ways that strengthen their combined impact. Share My Meals relies on a dedicated volunteer network to recover and deliver meals, while Food Connect provides professional drivers who specialize in last-mile transportation. 

Together, these complementary approaches are helping to create a more reliable and resilient system for local communities.

Sustaining a route that couldn’t be lost

One of the first opportunities for collaboration came through a critical route: transporting prepared meals from Rowan University to The Unforgotten Haven.

For Share My Meals, this type of route is central to their work. Since launching in 2020, the organization has built a strong network of partners across New Jersey, recovering hundreds of thousands of meals and working with dozens of nonprofit organizations to ensure food reaches communities instead of going to waste. Much of that work is made possible by a dedicated volunteer base, people who show up consistently to pick up and deliver meals, often because they see firsthand both the amount of food being discarded and the level of need in their own communities.

The Rowan University route reflected both the strength and the limits of that model. The route involved multiple pickups and large donation volumes, often 40 to 50 trays of prepared food at a time. While volunteers were able to support it for a period of time, maintaining a consistent schedule proved challenging. Coordinating drivers, navigating campus logistics, and ensuring reliability week after week required a level of consistency that became difficult to sustain through volunteer availability alone.

At one point, Share My Meals considered ending the route altogether, not because of a lack of impact, but because of how important it was to get it right.

To help maintain the route, Food Connect began supporting transportation with a dedicated driver. With a consistent schedule and clear communication, the route became more predictable and easier to manage alongside Share My Meals’ broader volunteer-powered network.

Terron Nelson now supports the route each week, helping ensure meals move from pickup to delivery as planned. Over time, that consistency has made coordination smoother for everyone involved and helped maintain a steady flow of food to The Unforgotten Haven.

The impact of bridging the gap, together

Over the past five months, this partnership has helped deliver more than 1,600 meals and 280 lbs of other food products, from Rowan University to people at The Unforgotten Haven.

Those meals make a meaningful difference for the 300 families connected with the organization, many of whom rely on consistent access to ready-to-eat food as part of their weekly routines.

“There is so much surplus in this world. To see it redirected to people experiencing food insecurity is incredibly meaningful. We are honored to receive these meals twice a week to ensure those we serve never go hungry. These meals are such a great addition to our food pantry.” — Michele Gambone, Founder/CEO, The Unforgotten Haven

In New Jersey, more than 1.1 million residents experience food insecurity, while more than 1.4 million tons of surplus food is wasted.

This route is one example of what it looks like to close that gap. Food that might otherwise be discarded is instead recovered, redistributed, and returned to use in the community, turning excess into something useful, dependable, and part of everyday life.

Building on what works for the future

By combining their strengths, Share My Meals and Food Connect have been able to maintain a reliable flow of meals from Rowan University to The Unforgotten Haven, week after week.

It’s a simple idea with meaningful results. When transportation is consistent, programs can continue. When partnerships are strong, impact can grow.

As both organizations look ahead, they are exploring additional opportunities to expand this work across New Jersey, including in New Brunswick and Newark. Together, they are building on what’s already working and finding new ways to ensure that less food goes to waste and more reaches people in local communities.

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This story was developed with input and permission from Assetou Gaudissard, Nicholene Silipino, and Eszter Koos with Share My Meals; Michele Gambone at The Unforgotten Haven; and Terron Nelson, dedicated Food Connect Driver.