Devils’ Owners Make Donation to Newark Working Kitchens

In a staff report yesterday on the Devils’ official app, the Devils announced that managing partners Josh Harris and David Blitzer have donated $200,000 to the Newark Working Kitchens.

The Newark Working Kitchens are “a free meal delivery service for Newark residents who are low-income senior, disabled and family housing residents, people without homes, and other vulnerable Newark citizens.” They help “create and sustain jobs while supporting those most critically in need of food.”

According to the piece on the Devils’ app and Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka, NWK has been operating for 12 weeks and “has delivered more than 200,000 meals during” that time. They have helped in “Newark’s recovery by ordering a minimum of 200 meals a week from the 21 participating restaurants.”

The article mentioned that NWK and the City of Newark work together to distribute meals where they are needed the most within the city. It works with tenant associations in the housing residences and with “a growing list of community organizations.” According to the article, these include: Ironbound Community Corporation, Bridges Outreach, Newark Emergency Services for Families, Newark Public Schools, University Hospital, Palm Street Block Association, Newark Homeless Coalition, NJCRI/Crossroads Drop-In Center, Tree House Cares, Willing Heart Community Care Center, Clinton Hill Community Action and the YMCA.

Mayor Baraka said: “Newark Working Kitchens will be able to deliver tens of thousands of meals in the coming weeks while supporting Newark’s talented array of small business entrepreneurs heavily impacted by the events of 2020. Our local restaurants have been very hard hit, and funding NWK allows restaurant employees to return to work and cook for Newark residents in urgent need.”

More information can be found by emailing nwk@audible.com. Audible.com, a company based in Newark, “has been a tremendous corporate partner for the New Jersey Devils and Prudential Center and the organization is happy to join them in this cause” read the article on the Devils’ app.

The Devils, Prudential Center and Devils Care/Youth Foundation have been working with Mayor Baraka’s office in Newark and the State of New Jersey since the pandemic began in March. They made a donation to the City of Newark then “to help facilitate a food assistance gift card program that provides groceries to families in need.”

Then, in April, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment “made a large six-figure donation to RWJBarnabas Heath’s Emergency Response Fund” helping “secure essential personal protective and medical equipment for the 35,000 system employees.” The group also donated “7,000 pairs of gloves, 10,000 hand sanitizer units, and sanitizing wipes and sprays to the RWJBarnabas medical system.

May saw them donate “10,000 tickets for the 2020-21 season to RWJBarnabas Health front-line workers, in conjunction with the ‘Pay it Forward’ Season Ticket Member and Plan Holder ticket donation program.”

Despite the team really patting themselves on the back with some of the wording in this article. For instance, crowing that they were “the lead donation [Mayor Baraka] cited as an inspiration to the other business leaders in Newark and the state to make additional contributions” at the time of the crisis hitting in March, this is a good move by the Devils. It helps struggling families in the city and reaches out to help workers in restaurants keep working. The Devils have been really good in supporting Newark since they moved to the Prudential Center and this continues that positive trend.