GRACE stands for Giving and Receiving Assistance for our Community’s Essentials
Imagine a community where everyone has what they need.
We start with the philosophy that our community’s resources can fill any need in our community.
Fresh Food, Essential Supplies, Stabilizing Supports
#happyhealthysecure
MISSION
Since 2016
GRACE – Giving and Receiving Assistance for our Community’s Essentials meets community needs with community resources to enable the good health and success of our vulnerable and underserved neighbors.
We bring fresh nutrient dense food and essentials to everyone in our community while providing a space for accessing stabilizing supports and community building. Our enrichment programs provide opportunity for social engagement while empowering individuals to take charge of their mental and physical well-being.
VISION
GRACE is Giving and Receiving Assistance for our Community’s Essentials. While we believe it is everyone’s birthright to be happy, healthy, and secure, we know that this is not a reality for every person today. Providing healthy, nutrient dense food and essentials is just the start. We strive to make sure every person in our community, every one of our neighbors, has access to the programs and services that make life fulfilling. It goes beyond the food we eat and it becomes about the way we live. Access to programs that promote health and fitness are too often considered a privilege. We want to break through the barriers to make sure that everyone in our community, regardless of identity or socioeconomic status, can perform the activities they want and need to do, can handle what life throws their way, and can be a part of something larger than themselves, as part of a safe and welcoming community that supports growth, self-empowerment and building sustainable futures for all.
GRACE is a community with a vision on making sure that all our neighbors can live a life of happiness, health and security.
CORE VALUES
Consistency - Commitment - Care - Community
It is everyone’s birthright to be healthy, happy and secure. GRACE meets our most vulnerable and underserved neighbors’ needs with resources directly from our community. We start with the philosophy that our community’s resources can fill any need in our community. We make sure that all people have access to tools and support to live in good health and security. We remain open to support Summit’s most vulnerable residents for as long as there is need. We continue to listen to our people’s stories each and every day, and adapt to best respond to their needs and values. We always consider items that are culturally relevant and valuable to the GRACE community, and package our distribution items as a gift. To provide a continuum of care within an empathetic system, we enable connections for our people with local medical and stabilizing support services while we distribute culturally relevant, nutrient dense fresh food, essential items and household supplies.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, ACCESSIBILITY & INCLUSION
It is everyone’s birthright to be healthy, happy and secure. GRACE commits to cultivating an inclusive community that is represented by diverse leadership who live and work in the community we serve. We prioritize the needs and perspectives of marginalized members in our community, many of whom are recipients of our programs. We strive to make our services accessible to people who speak all languages and who use alternative forms of communication. Our Thursday Distribution includes a door-to-door delivery program for people who live in Summit and are unable to visit our physical location, due to time constraints, physical limitations or lack of access to transportation. We listen to the people we serve to find solutions in making sure that our services are accessible, desirable. We consider the demands and pressures placed on people in our community who face financial insecurity and the stressors that come with everyday life when faced with adversity. We strive to empower individuals and give them the tools they need to create and sustain quality of life and a sense of community. We strive to speak the language that is most comfortable to our people, and ensure outreach is culturally appropriate and respects and honors heritage and identity.
Giving
We aspire for everything destined for members of GRACE to feel like a gift. While we are no longer entirely a choice-based pantry, we lovingly select, wrap, or display the goods in that way. We have been fortunate to always have enough for all who come to GRACE in need.
The name GRACE comes from the name of our founder Amanda’s only child. When Amanda learned she would have a child, she was overcome with the feeling of grace and named her daughter accordingly. No one needs to prove their merit in order to receive grace from GRACE. It is everyone’s birthright to be healthy, happy, and secure.
Receiving
GRACE relies on the generosity of donors and volunteers. Every week 70-100 volunteers help unpack, store, bag, and distribute up to 16,000 pounds of food and supplies to share with 2,200-3,300 community members.
Our food and supplies are thanks to the G.I.F.T. Table (Give It Fresh Today) at the Summit Farmers Market, the largesse of the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, the Summit Achievement Garden, Moms Helping Moms, and purchases from grants and generous monetary donations.
Assistance
GRACE stems from eight months of research and conversations in 2015-2016 with local leaders, agencies, and institutions.
Our first month of Family Fun Nights in August 2016 grew into the weekly GRACE distribution thanks to the Summit Interfaith Council, Christ Church, Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Central Presbyterian Church, and the City of Summit’s Department of Community Programs. Five months into GRACE’s inception, the Junior League of Summit adopted GRACE as a project which gave us the necessary governance and administrative support to stabilize and grow.
In October 2019, GRACE moved from Christ Church to the Cornog Field House, where it flourished. In July 2020, the City Council of the City of Summit unanimously voted to name GRACE a program of the City of Summit. In June 2023 GRACE moved distribution to The Summit Community Center, providing more access to community programs and services that support our neighbors in need.
While GRACE is proud and grateful to be a program of the City of Summit, it is entirely funded by grants and generous donations from the community. When GRACE expresses a need, the community comes to our aid from entities of all sizes.
Community Essentials
What is a community essential? We, at GRACE, believe that to stabilize households facing poverty we must cover more needs than food, shelter, and warmth. At GRACE, we ensure that everyone in our community has the essentials to live, grow, learn, work, and thrive in our community.
This goal, when achieved, can manifest in several ways. It can be as simple as ensuring families have enough fresh produce for all families to consume their recommended 5-7 servings a day, or for a child to have the gear to safely and fully play a sport, or for a laborer to have the boots he needs to gain employment on a worksite.
A Message from Amanda
Six years ago we took an important step to connect community members with the community-based resources they need. From there sprung GRACE which interweaves the best aspects of what the Summit area can offer.
We are known for our nutrient-dense food offerings each week, sure. And yet if you ask the people who are at a distribution each Thursday, the answers will vary to the question, what is GRACE?
Produce, milk, bread, and eggs. Medical and dental check ups. Immigration advocacy. Heavy boots fit for a construction site. A costume for school’s Halloween celebration. Moreover, our team and the people they see would say that GRACE is community. GRACE is the assurance that together we will weather life’s storms and become healthier, happier, and more secure because of our community.
We are so grateful to our supporters and partners. We are grateful to those who trust us with their needs. Without either there would be no GRACE.
We welcome you to join our community. We would be happy to have you!
Amanda Block
Founder