A Peak at Ms. Benedicts’ Work Behind the Scenes | An interview with Interfaith Food Pantry Network Development Director, Ms. Sandra Benedict
Zara Syed | August 2021
As I strolled through the Interfaith Food Pantry Network, one thing was evident; the beaming smiles on every volunteer’s face. The blazing sun was pale in comparison to the joy that drowned any sadness in the pantry. Although every volunteer’s content and passion were a reason in itself to feel radiant, every initiative leading to the food pantry’s success has to be scrupulously guided. Ms. Sandra Benedict, for the last two plus years, has played a significant role in bringing smiles to clients and volunteers’ faces.
Ms. Benedict is the Development Director of the Interfaith Food Pantry Network who commutes 90 minutes to work every morning. Every minute of that drive is compensated in the form of a new smile that is finally receiving the food that they have needed for months. As Development Director, Ms. Sandra Benedict is mainly focused on continuing to increase the pantry’s revenue so deserving Morris County community members receive the healthy food they need. Her reward isn’t just tangible, but it is truly intangible knowing that her purpose and actions are making a significant impact in the community. Her commitment is defined and confirmed through her career — as you will read in the following interview. Ms. Benedict is one of the driving forces pursuing the legacy of 25 years of the Interfaith Food Pantry Network — assisting Morris County in the fight against hunger.
Corporate Sales, a stable career, just not as content or rewarding as basking a new shade of light on the unprivileged; or at least to Ms. Sandra Benedict. After having her first child, she had a new realization, that she was in this world to make it a better place. She decided to host a marathon for kids. Over the course of a year, Long Branch Public School students who participated in a program that Ms. Benedict ran, collected 25 miles. On the last day of school, kids came together to rewardingly run their last mile. This program made many kids more active and perhaps ignited an awareness and consequence of living a healthy lifestyle. It also paved Ms. Benedict’s path to becoming the Development Director at the interfaith food pantry Network.
In her role as Development Director of the Interfaith Food Pantry Network, Ms. Benedict has a number of responsibilities. Although there are simply too many to note, according to Ms. Benedict, one of her most principal responsibilities is to develop ways to increase the Interfaith Food Pantry’s revenue. She realises this through talking with individual donors, raising awareness about fundraising initiatives, letting corporate partnerships join the journey to success, and linking hands with big companies. Additionally, she is indirectly involved in helping plan galas, 5k races,, and many more events!
With the onset of the unprecedented novel Covid-19 in March 2020, staff at the Interfaith Faith Pantry Network, required creativity and the need to pivot and devise new ways of operating the pantry. Ms. Benedict stated that once Covid-19 hit New Jersey, there was a 28% increase in the clients they received (A client is referred to someone who relies on the food pantry either on a short-term or long-term basis). As this disease spread it was evident that a growing population of people were in need of food that even the food pantry couldn’t supply. Under the guidance of the Executive Director Ms. Carolyn Lake, Interfaith Food Pantry Network team was instrumental in confronting the challenges the pantry faced in 2020.While the amount of people reaching out for their next meal continued to increase, the pantry’s volunteers all got sent home. Additionally, as the Interfaith Food Pantry Network began to discover paths to tackling the pandemic, it was apparent that their methods of distributing food would face a notable change. The staff pivoted quickly and carefully to ensure those who needed food received it. This was possible due to the overwhelming support and generous donations from the community, the dedication and commitment of the staff and the astute leadership of the Executive Director Ms. Carolyn Lake.
Running such an effective nonprofit requires efficiency, passion, patience and energy- all of which are inherent in the staff . While touring the Morris Plains location where Ms. Benedict works, I learnt the process of operation and discovered the positive impact of Interfood Faith Pantry Network on the Morris County community. If a client needs to reach out to the pantry, the first step is to email or call all the Client Services Team and show proof that they live in Morris County. It is a streamlined process, in large part due to precise and methodological processes in place .
Ms. Benedict, a fitness enthusiast with a penchant for healthy food discussed a compelling problem with food insecurity is the lack of nutrition. In order to provide clients with both food and nutrition, Ms. Benedict continues to enforce the need to serve healthy foods.
Increasing donations to an ambitious level is central to Ms. Benedict. The Interfaith Food Pantry Network promotes its initiative and cause in many ways including recognizing copious donors, sending out newsletters to contributors, and mailing letters of awareness to potential volunteers. Additionally, this pantry believes in planting seeds in the upcoming generation through hosting educational programs for minors to make sure kids understand the issue of hunger from an early age.
One of Ms. Benedict’s favorite features of the Interfaith Food Pantry Network is that they repurpose food. By doing this, they are able to feed more people and help the environment by not releasing more greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere… it’s a “Win-Win!”
The Interfaith Food Pantry continues to grow and will surely expand even more in the future. One of the things that Sandra Benedict pictures in the near future for this local pantry, is that it will expand the capacity of the building (Refrigerator Space, Expanding Financially).
In Ms. Sandra Benedict’s opinion, the Interfaith Food Pantry Network is different from other pantries because it is a well-oiled machine. For 25 successful years, the Interfaith Food Pantry Network has focused and accomplished on their goal; to make sure that every resident of Morris County in need receives food because food is a human right.
In her career, Ms. Benedict has brought and rejuvenated many smiles with her passion to give back to her community. As earned, she has also received many thankful compliments and handfuls of gratefulness. One of her favorite ones was when she was at a Farmers Market where clients receive fresh fruits and vegetables and a lady walked up to her with tears pooling in her eyes. She said that she was diabetic but couldn’t afford healthy foods, and this fresh produce was a lifeline. This was a moment that reminded Ms. Benedict of why she does what she does. The reward does not come in the form of money. It is truly the people and lives she enriches that matter in the long run.
Ms. Sandra Benedict is truly a trail blazer. She has already helped pave a path for so many people in need of food. Her joy and passion that she shares with her community lets others bask in a newer, brighter, and more appreciated light. Her work is truly remarkable and continues to inspire young girls and the whole youthful generation to step up to share their abilities with their community. True to Ms Benedict’s words, “Donor’s money is going to be put to good use,” Interfood Faith Pantry Network has distributed 1.5 million pounds of food in 2020 . Thank you so much for your services, Ms. Sandra Benedict!
