Hope Market is a community food pantry located in Montague, New Jersey, the only designated food desert in Sussex County. Montague is also unique in that it is the only municipality in New Jersey that borders both New York and Pennsylvania, creating a diverse service area with families who often live and work across state lines. Hope Market was established in late 2025 after it became clear that food insecurity was rapidly increasing throughout our community. Since opening, demand has continued to grow, and we are now serving more than 800 people each month. Our mission is simple: to ensure that no family in our region goes hungry, regardless of which side of the state line they call home. For this reason, we made the difficult decision not to partner with the New Jersey Community FoodBank, as their policies prohibit us from distributing food to our neighbors from Pennsylvania and New York who also rely on our services.
While our community has generously supported our efforts, our greatest ongoing challenge is maintaining a consistent supply of fresh produce and frozen protein items. These nutritious staples are often the most requested and the most difficult for families to afford. Additional funding and partnerships would allow us to provide healthier, more balanced food options while meeting the growing needs of the community we serve.
ProducePedia is a free resource that covers the types of fresh produce that can be delivered to food pantries. Each entry includes information on color, taste, and possible uses. People unfamiliar with the vegetable or fruit will learn how to use it, and those who are familiar with it still might learn a fun fact or two!
The Cooperative Extension sites have a wealth of information for any backyard gardener. Once you go to the site (each one if very different from the others) look for a link for “homes and gardens”, “landscape”, “consumer horticulture”, etc. to find information on improving your backyard garden. Neighboring state sites may offer information your own state’s site lacks.
