PLATINUM2023

MEETING ESSENTIAL NEEDS WITH DIGNITY INC

Together we feed our community

aka MEND   |   Maplewood, NJ   |  www.mendnj.org

Mission

MEND works to alleviate hunger by providing fresh and healthy food, funds, volunteers, and a collaborative forum for its member pantries and community partners, so that they may share ideas and resources, and make a greater impact on the communities they serve. MEND also advocates for policies to eliminate food insecurity - all with the overarching mission of alleviating hunger, addressing the root causes of food insecurity, and improving the health and well-being of everyone in our community.

Ruling year info

2010

Executive Director

Robin Peacock

Main address

P.O. Box 1304

Maplewood, NJ 07040 USA

Show more contact info

Formerly known as

Meeting Emergency Needs with Dignity

EIN

27-1105051

NTEE code info

Human Service Organizations (P20)

Food Banks, Food Pantries (K31)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

The problem MEND aims to address is alleviating hunger in Essex County, NJ.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Pantry Partnerships

MEND regularly convenes meetings of the leadership of its member pantries. These meetings provide a forum for the pantry managers to share ideas and resources, learn about topics relevant to their work and mission, and collectively address shared challenges. When key themes arise, MEND works with the pantry leaders to design community-driven solutions, often through collective food sourcing, fundraising, and collaborations with key partners.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Adults
People of African descent
People of Latin American descent
Economically disadvantaged people

MEND piloted this program in 2021 and launched it as a year-round program in 2022. The goal of MEND on the Move is to reduce food insecurity and advance health equity by bringing nutritious food directly and consistently to those who need it most. Through Mobile Markets and Home Deliveries designed collaboratively with each community partner to meet the specific needs of those they serve, MEND provides increased access to nutritious food to those experiencing barriers to food access. Over 14,000 servings of fresh and healthy food have been provided through this program!

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Adults
People of African descent
People of Latin American descent
Economically disadvantaged people

Where we work

Videos

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of children served

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Age groups, Social and economic status

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Pounds of fresh produce distributed per year

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Estimated dollar value of food donations distributed to community feedings programs

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of food donation partners

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of participants engaged in programs

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

MEND is aiming to accomplish a community in which no person goes hungry, and in which every person, regardless of their circumstances, has regular access to a variety of nutritionally sound, culturally relevant, and affordable food.

MEND's strategy is to regularly convene a network of the people who best know the needs of their patrons: the food pantry managers and community leaders on the front lines of hunger relief. Twice monthly, MEND facilities an open discussion and collaboration on a variety of topics identified directly by the food pantry managers, and then raises foods and funds for specific needs they identify. MEND also brings in guest speakers on topics requested by the pantries, and advocates for policies to benefit food pantry patrons. Finally, MEND collaborates with other nonprofits, businesses, and community organizations to support its hunger relief efforts.

MEND has a long history of local partnerships within the food pantry community, dating back to 1980 when it was formed. As a trusted partner, it is well positioned to represent the "voice of the pantries." In addition, in response to continued requests for more fresh food support, MEND recently established a Fresh Food Hub, a small warehouse space in Orange, NJ. This Hub allows MEND to use its economies of scale to source more fresh food donations and bulk food purchases for specific requested needed foods. While MEND is largely supported by volunteers, it does have a small staff of an Executive Director, Program Coordinator, and Operations Manager, who all work closely with the food pantries and community partners on both collective fundraising and food sourcing.

We were able to "stand up" the Fresh Food Hub in record time (lease signed in June vs in 2021, as originally planned) and utilize the Sweet Pea Van and refrigeration/storage space to meaningfully respond to COVID-19. Having the Hub allowed us to source additional food requested by the pantry managers - and not available elsewhere (rice, eggs, chicken, cereal) - in greater quantities.

In 2020, we provided over 400,000 pounds of food - 65% of which was fresh (compared to 78,000 lbs total in 2019). In 2021, we provided a similar quantity of food - and increase the fresh food percentage to 68%.

We also launched a pilot program known as "MEND on the Move," to increase fresh food access for people who were not regularly able to visit the food pantries. This program pilot was a collaboration among 8 community partner organizations, 1 transportation partner, and MEND, and resulted in over 10,000 fresh food servings provided through mobile markets and home deliveries.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection

Financials

MEETING ESSENTIAL NEEDS WITH DIGNITY INC
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

MEETING ESSENTIAL NEEDS WITH DIGNITY INC

Board of directors
as of 04/29/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

A. Jabbar Abdi

Kate Cahill

Karen Hartshorn Hilton

A. Jabbar Abdi

Linda Klaiss

Benjamin Eyler

Claire Sinclair

Margaret Santana

Rick Wessler

Shawna Early

Darlyn Blaney

Chesney Blue

Magaly Denis-Roman

Chris Costanzo

Dyanna Moon

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 12/19/2022
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 12/19/2022

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
  • We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.