(MIDDLESEX COUNTY, NJ) -- This year’s Dine Below the Line will be held live on YouTube on Thursday, June 3 at 6:00pm and will feature a virtual cooking competition. Virtual attendees will learn new recipes, hear from experienced and aspiring chefs, vote for their favorite dish and much more.
Sponsored by Northfield Bank, this year’s Dine Below the Line, is a collaboration between MCFOODS, Feeding Middlesex County, The Arts Institute of Middlesex County, and the Rutgers Collaborative Center for Community Based Research and Service. With the goal of raising awareness on food insecurity, the event is a creative and fun way to educate and support those in need in our community.
“While the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a sharp increase in food insecurity in Middlesex County and nationwide, it's inspiring to see so many people working together to help alleviate hunger and drive awareness of the significant need that exists in our communities,” said Middlesex County Board of County Commissioner Director Ronald G. Rios. “Not only is this event entertaining and accessible to everyone via YouTube, but it’s a great way to highlight the resources provided by MCFOODS and Feeding Middlesex County which continue to help those in need throughout the County.”
Local chefs will share videos of delicious meals prepared on a budget with ingredients found in food pantries. The dishes will be judged based on creativity, cost, and nutrition, and the audience will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite!
There is no cost to view the event or cast a vote, however monetary donations are encouraged to Feeding Middlesex County so that they can continue to purchase food and supplies to aid families struggling in our community.
Since the pandemic began, the issue of food insecurity has increased significantly. In New Jersey, the food insecurity rate was projected to be 13.5 percent, which is equivalent to more than 1.2 million residents, according to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey.
MCFOODS and Feeding Middlesex County continue to raise awareness on the serious issue of food insecurity within our community by offering creative, fun, and easy ways to get involved with events like our Drive-by Food Drives, Walk to End Hunger, and Dine Below the Line.
For more information or to RSVP go to the Facebook event page.
PROGRAM
Event Host: Sharon Gordon - actress, author, audio book narrator, as well a highly sought-after Mistress of Ceremonies and Zoom host. She is an acclaimed journalist, publicist, promoter, film producer, event coordinator, facilitator, ethnomusicologist, and ethnic marketing and cultural consultant.
Chef Line Up:
* Chef Pearl Thompson – Culinary educator who lives by the philosophy that good food for all is right and not charity
* Chef Cathy Decker – Travel publicist and volunteer chef with St. Peter’s in Spotswood Wednesday night suppers
* Team New Brunswick -- Chef Jackie Mazza – New Brunswick Chef and restauranteur and Chef Carolina Moratti – Local chef and host of “Cooking Outside the Box” who is a passionate community leader and advocate for food security
* Team Piscataway - Chef Doug Wilson – Local caterer, food pantry volunteer, and community activist who founded the Dine Below the Line concept five years ago while directing the Christ Church Food Pantry in New Brunswick; Chef Glen Rodriguez - Joined the army straight out of high school and traveled the country before working for a national restaurant group in Florida and eventually becoming a chef in Piscataway; Chef Matthew Smith - A Johnson and Wales graduate and local chef who in his leisure time enjoys umpiring youth baseball
Guest Judges:
Kevin Hoagland - Retired Middlesex County surrogate, chair of Feeding Middlesex County, president and founder of Central Jersey Spinal Cord Association
Racquel Williams – Brand manager and news director at 1450 WCTC – AM radio
Keith Jones - Director of human and community services in the City of New Brunswick and experienced community outreach and nonprofit leader
Middlesex County is home to numerous Fortune 500 companies, three universities, 18 park systems, and world-class healthcare and research facilities making it one of the nation’s most dynamic regions and a leader in technology, transportation, the arts, and food innovation. As one of the most diverse populations in the country, Middlesex County is home to over 832,000 residents living throughout 25 municipalities and employing nearly 40,000 people. Ranked #1 in the state for best schools, the County offers an award-winning vocational school system, a county college, and workforce development creating a unique ecosystem in which opportunities abound. Conveniently located between New York and Philadelphia, Middlesex County is a leading destination for businesses and residents alike to live, work, and play – and has been since the 17th century.
The Dine Below the Line hunger awareness event was conceived as a Christ Church Food Pantry Rutgers Intern project under the leadership of then pantry director, Doug Wilson, in 2016 in partnership with MCFOODS and has taken wing. MCFOODS has partnered with different pantries to move the event around throughout the county. The first event was attended by about 50 people; the event doubled in size the following year and again the year after.
The event has aimed to raise awareness on food insecurity by having local chefs prepare a gourmet meal using items typically found in a food pantry. Dinners have been well attended by upwards of 200 people including county and local government officials, county non-profits, local businesses, food pantry volunteers, parishioners, food pantry clients and many other individual stakeholders in the fight against hunger. There has never been a cost associated with the dinner however donations to Feeding Middlesex County are encouraged.
Beginning in the closet of a park police building in Roosevelt Park in Edison in 1994, MCFOODS has since expanded into a 5,000 square foot warehouse in East Brunswick. MCFOODS provides nonperishable foods and necessities to our network of over 140 partner organizations throughout the 25 towns in Middlesex County to ensure that all residents always have access to nutritionally adequate food and necessities. In the early years, MCFOODS received and distributed 92,000 pounds of nonperishable foods and necessities to about 30 partner agencies. In 2019, MCFOODS received and distributed over 2.2 million pounds of food including fresh produce, dairy, and meat products to over 130 partners. During the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, MCFOODS never closed its doors. In a time when food insecurity increased throughout the country, MCFOODS collected and distributed an impressive 4,378,792 pounds of food to members of the Middlesex County community, a 93 percent increase over the year before. A database of agencies that can provide emergency food can be found at this link.
Feeding Middlesex County, a 501c3 nonprofit, was created in 2017 to support the efforts of MCFOODS. Feeding Middlesex County raises funds to purchase food and equipment to assist qualifying agencies in procuring, storing, preserving and transporting food and other necessary items to our food insecure neighbors, through MCFOODS, the county food bank. In 2020 Feeding Middlesex County (FMC) spent almost $250,000 sourcing food, diapers, PPE, other essentials as well as making over 3,000 cloth face masks for community protection.
