NJPAC’s Standing in Solidarity Season Closes With a Conversation on Strengthening Food Security in New Jersey

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) will host the final Standing in Solidarity event of the season on Monday, June 23, at 6PM. (Doors open at 4:30PM to allow participants to access resource tables and a food preparation demonstration.) 

Nourishing Communities: Confronting Food Insecurity Together will cover the challenges of affording and obtaining healthy food options. 

The program features a PSEG Social Impact Film Series screening of Starved: Our Food Insecurity Crisis followed by a panel conversation on transformative solutions throughout New Jersey. The documentary, produced by WQED Pittsburgh, examines food insecurity as a societal problem and explores how private and public sectors are working to supply nutritious meals to those who need them most.  

For those experiencing food insecurity, the program will also include resources from partner organizations. Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Essex County, Mosaic — from 

NJ.com, Newark Water Coalition and hunger relief groups MEND, Toni’s Kitchen and Tree House Cares will offer information about their services. 

“It is appropriate that we close the season with a conversation on how to improve access to healthy food,” says Dr. Sherri-Ann Butterfield, Senior Vice President of Social Impact at NJPAC. “Our Standing in Solidarity series and PSEG Social Impact films spotlight urgent social issues and having enough to eat is a basic human right that is incumbent on all of us to protect.” 

The panel discussion will be moderated by Jasmyne Beckford, Manager in Inclusive Solutions at Prudential Financial. Panelists include Dr. Joshua Ardise, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey; Hend El-Buri, Director, Nutrition & Food at Rutgers University–Newark; Balpreet Grewal-Virk, PhD, Senior Vice President of Community Health for RWJBarnabas Health; Elizabeth McCarthy, President and CEO of The Community FoodBank of New Jersey; and Tanya Veltz, Co-Founder of Tree House Cares. 

“Food insecurity is one of the most critical social determinants of health, impacting everything from chronic disease to overall well-being. At RWJBarnabas Health, we are deeply committed to addressing this challenge head-on — because no one’s health should suffer due to lack of access to nutritious food,” says panelist Balpreet Grewal-Virk, PhD, SVP, Community Health, RWJBarnabas Health. “Through partnerships like those with NJPAC and Prudential, as well as education and community-based programs, we are consistently creating sustainable pathways to food security and nourishing the communities we serve.”

Prior to the PSEG Social Impact film screening, at 4:30PM, Chef Alexandra Charles will lead a cooking demonstration using healthy and affordable ingredients. Charles specializes in plant-based cooking to improve health and increase energy. Attendees will be able to watch her cook, enjoy samples and bring home recipes.   

The program also includes a food drive benefiting MEND, Toni’s Kitchen and the mobile meal trailer of Tree House Cares. Attendees are encouraged to bring donations of the following items: boxes of shelf-stable milk, mayonnaise, boxes of pasta (including macaroni and cheese), canned tuna and chicken, rice, canned or dried beans, oatmeal, dried fruit, breakfast bars and ketchup and mustard (bottled or individually packaged). In addition, DoorDash is contributing gift cards to the participating food banks and pantries. 

“We value giving back to the communities we serve,” says Calvin Ledford Jr., President of the PSEG Foundation and Director of Corporate Social Responsibility. “Our aim is to provide support and empowerment and drive toward tangible solutions to the challenges our communities face.  Partnering with NJPAC continues to deliver on this objective. Having a food drive along with a film screening and panel conversation on grassroots programs that are thoughtfully alleviating hunger is nourishing for bodies and minds.” 

This free event is part of the third annual Prudential North to Shore Festival running June 14 – 29 in  Newark and Asbury Park, and throughout the year in Atlantic City. A portion of all festival ticket sales will directly benefit Growing Healthy Pantries — a partnership between Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, Community FoodBank of New Jersey, FoodBank of South Jersey, Fulfill, Mercer Street Friends, Norwescap and Feeding America, which addresses food security statewide and supports 1,000 food pantries across the state’s 21 counties.

Standing in Solidarity, NJPAC’s ongoing series of monthly conversations built around issues of social justice and equity, is supported by the PSEG Foundation. Most of these programs include a screening of a socially-engaged documentary paired with a thought-provoking post-screening talk featuring a panel of activists, academics, journalists and others deeply engaged with the topic. 

Originally a virtual series, four Standing in Solidarity programs each season are now held in person at the Arts Center; the others are virtual. A collection of recordings of previous events is available at Standing in Solidarity. The new season begins in September 2025.   

New Jersey Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. THE LITTLE MERMAID (HOWELL PAL THEATRE COMPANY)

3.1% of votes

2. HAIR (Vanguard Theater Company)

2.9% of votes

3. GREASE (Plays-in-the-Park)

2.9% of votes

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