- We're now joined by Vesta Godwin Clark, Executive Director at the St. James Social Services Corporation.

Ms. Clark, good to see you.

- Good to see you too, Steve, thanks for having me.

- It's my pleasure.

Tell the room what the organization is.

We'll put the website up.

- St. James Social Service Corporation is one of the largest providers of food in Essex County through our Emergency Food Pantry and our Soulfood Cafe Soup Kitchen.

We also do rental assistance for homeless prevention, La Hee clothing, diapers, adult briefs, just about anything that people need, we do it.

But food is our biggest thing, where we provide over 800,000 pounds of food annually.

- Based where?

- We are located in the heart of Newark, New Jersey, on Martin Luther King Boulevard, 604 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

- Beautiful, talk to us about the connection.

We have a partnership with the Community FoodBank of New Jersey to do public awareness around food insecurity and related issues.

What's the connection to the Community FoodBank?

- So, the Community FoodBank, they are our very best friend.

We receive about 80% of our food donations from them, and any other resources that we need.

If it's not donated, we get it at a discounted price.

But the FoodBank, on a once a month basis, they deliver 25 pallets of food to us to distribute.

So we definitely couldn't do what we do without them.

And just recently, we were awarded at their Blue Jean Ball for the work and our connection that we have in the community with them.

- Congratulations.

- Thank you.

- Let's try this.

During COVID, describe who was coming to St. James seeking assistance with food, and why would be surprised at who those folks were?

- Wow.

To look back to four years ago, I wonder how we even made it through.

So initially, when the governor told everyone they had to go home, and the only entities could stay open were places like the grocery store, and I reached out to the late Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver, and I said, "What are we supposed to do?

What are our people supposed to do?"

Well, I didn't realize that within a three-week time period that the world shut down, that our people became everyone.

We had people in our lines that worked on Wall Street that had six-figure incomes that couldn't work and hadn't got any unemployment.

So we saw the change.

It happened quickly, and because of the FoodBank, we were able to provide food to anyone who came.

They didn't have to register, which is the normal process.

They could come more than once a month, which was not the normal process.

So we saw people, some of the same people every day.

And literally between our Emergency Food Pantry, we were serving 700 to a thousand families a day.

And then our Soup Kitchen, we were doing 650 meals, and we had to learn how to do everything on the to-go basis, because before that, we were not.

So, it was very interesting.

We actually had an article, we were featured on "Nightline" with one of our clients who, she's an attorney, and because her son could not go to preschool, she couldn't go to work.

She lost her job, and she had to turn to our organization for not only food, but also for rental assistance.

So we saw... COVID let the world know that there was no...

The color, income level, it really did not matter.

It was all about food that the world really needed food.

- You mentioned our late friend, Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver, who we did a, my colleague, Jacqui Tricarico and I on our series, "Remember Them."

Checkout, "Remember Them," and the feature we did on our great, our late great Lieutenant Governor, Sheila Oliver.

Just remind folks who Sheila was, and why Sheila still matters.

- Wow.

Sheila was literally, and still is our angel.

With her position, the DCA, Sheila made sure that in- - Sheila was, excuse me, she was Lieutenant Governor and the head of the Department of Community Affairs, DCA.

I apologize, Ms. Clark.

- Yeah, yes, which is the department that has funding for nonprofits.

So it was a very important department, and the fact that she was the head and she knew us, we were able to get grants that we, not that we weren't deserving, but that we were never, we didn't know about, we weren't in that network.

And because of Sheila, her very first discretionary grant that she gave us, her first year in office, it was $150,000 discretionary.

- Because she knew your work and the people you were serving every day.

- That's right, that's right.

And only because she knew who we were, and she continues to bless us, we continue to receive the grants.

We knew that the Lieutenant Governor would not always be in that position.

It's only eight years, which is why I've always said to my staff, "We have to make sure that we administer these grants and these funding the way that they should be, because when she's not there, we want to still be awarded."

And it's been a blessing.

This past year, it's the first year that she's been gone and we continue to receive the funding, which has really helped our organization.

- Ms. Clark, do this for us in the time we have left minutes.

So why do you do this work?

(Ms. Clark laughs) - It's something, I've been here for 24 years and we have struggled, where we've been unemployed, but still volunteering to do what we've been called to do.

And it's basically that.

It's what I was called to do.

And people wanna know, "Well, when are you retiring," because all my friends are retiring.

And I said, "You know, I enjoy what I do.

And because of our lieutenant governor, she helped us get into a different financial space than where we were before, where we can buy food, and, you know, do the things that we were supposed to do."

I said, "You know, how can you, what else can you ask for in terms of employment, but to be able to help people?

And I love what I do."

- You know what, Ms. Clark, you and I have more in common than you think.

People ask me all the time, "When are you gonna retire?"

No time soon.

- Right.

- That's what happens when you love what you do, right?

- Yep, yep.

- It's a disease.

(Ms. Clark laughs) In a good way.

Vesta Godwin Clark, who's the Executive Director of a terrific not-for-profit organization in the heart of the city of Newark, Brick City, making a difference every day, St. James Social Services Corporation.

Vesta, thank you so much for joining us.

We appreciate it.

- Thank you for having me.

Have a good holiday.

- Good luck.

- Thank you so much.

- We're taping right before the holidays.

Thanks for watching, we'll see you next time.

- [Narrator] Think Tank with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Funding has been provided by Community FoodBank of New Jersey.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

The North Ward Center.

The Russell Berrie Foundation.

New Jersey’s Clean Energy program.

The Fidelco Group.

RWJBarnabas Health.

Let’s be healthy together.

Citizens Philanthropic Foundation.

And by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Promotional support provided by CIANJ, and Commerce Magazine.

And by New Jersey Monthly.

- Let's talk about the state of hunger.

- The state of no hunger.

- (Narrator) For 50 years, the Community Food Bank of New Jersey has worked to fill the emptiness caused by hunger with food, help and hope.

Now it's time to look forward.

What will the next 50 years bring?

How can we, regular people like you and me, make a difference?

How can we change the state of hunger?

Can we change the state of hunger?

We can.