MORRIS COUNTY — The Interfaith Food Pantry Network (IFPN) will host its annual spring gala Sustaining Hope, at 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 21, at the Birchwood Manor at 111 North Jefferson Road, Whippany.

Tickets to this fundraising event are $250 each and include a cocktail reception, dinner, silent and live auctions, table prizes, and DJ and dancing. They can be purchased by clicking here.

IFPN will honor Barclays, a British universal bank, as its Outstanding Service Award recipient for its partnership in the execution of IFPN’s strategic efforts.

The Margaret A. Darrin Charitable Trust will receive the Pantry Partner Award for funding the expansion and renovation of its Healthy Choices Marketplace and Resource Center.

IFPN volunteers and Chester residents Chris and Jim MacDonald will receive the Neighbors Helping Neighbors Award for their long-term commitment and support of the IFPN over the last 20 years for their work, including Chris MacDonald’s dedication as a trustee.

“The individuals and organizations being honored have made significant contributions to our organization, in time, talent, and treasure, and have impacted the lives of thousands of people in our community, improving their health, financial stability, and well-being,” said Executive Director Carolyn Lake.

Through the pantries, they operate and their mobile network partners, the IFPN accommodated more than 31,000 household visits. The event will also celebrate IFPN’s plans to welcome its clients back into its newly expanded and renovated Client Choice Marketplace this summer for the first time since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Our new marketplace will feature an expanded and updated waiting area for providing client resources and a client-choice pantry that empowers our guests to choose healthy foods that they know their families will use and enjoy,” Lake said.

The evening will highlight IFPN’s current goals and achievements over the last year, including expanding its cold storage units by 550 percent and distributing 1.7 million pounds of nutritious food, including 673,000 pounds of fresh produce.

Proceeds from Sustaining Hope will fund IFPN Healthy Choices Marketplaces and Mobile Network programs providing healthy food to the ever-growing number of families facing food insecurity and hunger throughout Morris County. The IFPN is currently experiencing a 49 percent increase in client visits in January 2023 as compared to January 2022, and IFPN staff expect this trend to continue as clients face high inflationary costs while concurrently likely, many SNAP recipients are facing a decrease in their benefits as federal emergency allotments reach an end this month.

Pantry clients include low-income working families, seniors living on fixed incomes, people with disabilities, and those suffering from illness or job loss.

PARSIPPANY — The New Jersey Highlands Coalition (NJHC) invites the public to explore the region’s scenic vistas and natural beauty during its Spring Car Trek on Saturday, April 15.

Participants will meet at 10:00 a.m. at the Reservoir Tavern, 92 Parsippany Boulevard, Parsippany, the iconic circa 1936 roadhouse, to receive a tour packet and turn-by-turn directions before setting out in their vehicles to drive the 57-mile route.

The trek will conclude at about 1:00 p.m. in West Milford, with an option to join fellow trekkers for lunch and conversation.

The Spring 2023 Car Trek theme is Reservoirs of the Highlands, highlighting the numerous reservoirs that more than 6.2 million New Jersey residents depend on for clean, healthy drinking water.

As participants drive the expertly crafted tour route, passing deep forests, meadows, historic hamlets, and the steep ridges and narrow valleys that characterize the northern Highlands, they will learn about the Splitrock, Monksville, and Wanaque Reservoirs, among others, and why the Highlands were chosen as the finest “gathering grounds” for so much of the state’s water supply. The route will take participants through the Highlands Core Forest, 320 square miles of the most mature and least fragmented forest in the northern part of the state. Organizers will point out the many prime hiking and outdoor recreation areas.

Proceeds from the Car Trek benefit the New Jersey Highlands Coalition, a nonprofit organization based in Morris County. The NJHC works to protect and enhance the vital water and other natural and cultural resources of the Highlands region. The Car Trek is made possible with generous support from the Motorsport Club of North Jersey, the Sports Car Club of America Northern New Jersey Region, and the Raritan Valley Sports Car Club.

Tickets are $35.00 per car, which covers the required two-person per vehicle minimum — driver and navigator. There is a suggested donation of $10.00 for each additional passenger. Discounts are available for students and electric vehicles.

Full details and online registration are available by clicking here.

MORRIS COUNTY —  Morris County’s unique Navigating Hope mobile outreach program will be joined by an outreach specialist from the New Jersey State Department of Human Services to advance a state initiative to reach all uninsured children in New Jersey.

The outreach specialist will try to connect with disadvantaged children under the age of 19 and their families to help educate them on NJ FamilyCare, a federal and state-funded health insurance program created to provide qualified New Jersey residents of any age access to affordable health insurance. The outreach will include two upcoming community visits scheduled for:

• March 21, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Dover Board of Education

March 22, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Netcong School District

Since Morris County has an established outreach program through Navigating Hope, the state Human Service’s Office of New Americans asked to join their two regularly scheduled trips in their mission to travel and educate the public about the state’s “Cover All Kids” campaign.

Morris County is the first to partner with the state in the outreach effort.

Navigating Hope, a mobile outreach initiative designed to provide social services by going into communities where the services are most needed is a partnership between the Morris County Department of Human Services and Family Promise of Morris County. It is a complementary service to the Morris County Sheriff’s Hope One van, a novel program that provides mobile mental health and addiction services across our county.

Navigating Hope offers on-site benefits eligibility screenings, application assistance, and linkage to other community services. With NJ FamilyCare, income-eligible children under 19 can receive the following:

• Primary and specialty care, including check-ups and other visits
• Eyeglasses
• Hospitalization (both inpatient and outpatient)
• Lab tests/x-rays
• Prescriptions
• Dental Services
• Preventive Screenings
• Vaccinations
• Mental Health Care
• Substance Use Testing and Treatment
• Vision Services
• Hearing Services
• Lead Screening
• Family Planning
• Other medically necessary services

For more information on the “Cover All Kids” initiative being sponsored by NJ FamilyCare, please visit nj.gov/CoverAllKids to learn more and apply. Or call 1-800-701-0710 (TTY: 711) with questions or to apply by phone. Language translators are available.

MORRIS COUNTY — The Morris County Office of Planning and Preservation has announced that the 2023 grant application for funding of open space projects under the Morris County Preservation Trust is now available on the Open Space Preservation by clicking here.

“When you drive through Morris County, it’s easy to see why it is one of the most beautiful counties in New Jersey and a place you would call home. At the same time, it is one of the most economically vibrant counties in the country, as many major corporations also choose to call our county home. Preserving open space is essential to maintaining this balance between the beauty that makes Morris County what it is while maintaining the business footprint that helps sustain our local economy,” said Morris County Commissioner Stephen Shaw, liaison to the Office of Planning and Preservation.

The deadline for submitting open space applications and appraisals for 2023 funding is Friday, June 9, 2023.

Last year, the Morris County Board of County Commissioners approved recommendations by the county’s Open Space Trust Fund Committee to award $2.13 million in preservation grants for five open space projects totaling 34.60 acres in five Morris County towns.

The Open Space Trust Fund, part of the county’s Preservation Trust Fund, has helped preserve 17,838 acres throughout the county since 1994, using $294,557,718 generated by a preservation tax Morris County voters approved in November 1992.

“Resident tax dollars preserve open space in Morris County, which is directly evidenced by everything our county offers: well-maintained public infrastructure, top-rated schools, safe neighborhoods, the best park system in the state, and a vast network of hiking trails. When you consider we also have one of the lowest county tax rates in the state, the value your tax dollars provide is even more obvious,” Commissioner Shaw added.

In addition to open space projects, the county’s Preservation Trust Fund also helps finance farmland and historic preservation, county parkland acquisition, recreational trail projects, and purchasing residential properties prone to flooding.

The review process for grant applications is handled by the Open Space Trust Fund Committee, which visits the proposed sites and makes final recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners by fall.

“Any of Morris County’s 39 municipalities and qualified charitable conservancies are eligible to apply for grant funding,” said Barbara Murray, Morris County open space program coordinator.

Additional information may be obtained by contacting the Office of Planning and Preservation at (973) 829-8120.

PARSIPPANY — The Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany will host its annual Touch-A-Truck event on Saturday, June 17 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Liquid Church, 299 Webro Road, Parsippany. The price is $5.00 per person or $20.00 maximum per family. In 2019 over 1,100 children attended the event.

Touch-a-Truck is a fundraising event to benefit the Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany. Children of all ages can have hands-on experience with various vehicles and interact with community support leaders like police officers, firemen, first aid squad volunteers, sanitation workers and many more!

Every child will receive a drawstring bag full of surprises and coupons.

Aside from being a great time for the family, this event helps support our major initiatives. Kiwanis International is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world, one child and one community at a time. Our Parsippany based group supports and sponsors many community causes.

Kiwanis Club is looking for additional vendors to participate in this great event and sponsors.

For more information click here, or contact Touch-a-Truck Chairman Nicolas Limanov at Ndlimanov13@gmail.com or (917) 499-7299. Interested in sponsorships? Please contact Frank Cahill at (862) 213-2200.

MORRIS COUNTY — It has been reported that Anthony Somma, a Republican County committeeman from Randolph dropped out of the race for Morris County Commissioner after losing the county line last weekend.

Somma launched his campaign to unseat Commissioner Tayfun Selen (R-Chatham) in January, arguing that the incumbent was insufficiently conservative.

Somma said, “To all who voted for me: THANK YOU. The convention results prove that many in our party recognize what our Republican primary voters already know to be true: that we need a genuine conservative voice to lead our party to victory come November.”

Somma finished third place with 95 votes, DeGroot with 113 and the incumbent Tayfun Selen won the county line with 341 votes.

Former congressional candidate Paul DeGroot has not decided on his plans. DeGroot and Selen faced off in the 2022 Republican primary for the 11th congressional district, a contest which DeGroot won (though he lost the Morris County portion of the district).