Princeton NJ Non-Profit Press Releases

Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson and HomeFront Announce Expansion of Diaper Access

Lawrenceville, NJ – Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson visited HomeFront, the long-standing social service agency located in Lawrenceville, NJ for a check presentation ceremony to highlight the Assemblywoman’s successful advocacy for funding in the state budget to increase diaper access in New Jersey. The Assemblywoman’s $250,000 state budget appropriation will support the expansion of HomeFront’s Diaper Bank, a program that provided over one million diapers to families in need last year alone. The new funding will support expansion to offer diapers in bulk to other community organizations that support families in Central New Jersey.

Diapers are critical to a family’s stability and well-being, enabling children to go to daycare healthy and dry, parents to go to work, and families to put money toward other crucial expenses – ultimately helping the Central New Jersey community thrive.

Assemblywoman Reynolds-Jackson has prioritized women’s health and health equity policies in various aspects of her work. “This is a dream come true to be able to start this expansion here at HomeFront,” she says. “I do a lot of work around maternal health and the need for diapers always comes up, including the cost to have enough diapers for childcare so parents can go to work. Ultimately, it’s a high cost for families to have all the things that are necessary when having a baby,” she emphasizes.

HomeFront is already serving as one of the state’s largest distributors of no-cost diapers to families and currently partners with four local organizations to provide diapers in bulk. HomeFront’s Diaper Bank Expansion pilot will expand partnerships with up to 10 new organizations in its first year. The program will leverage the partner organizations’ existing relationships with families in the community who are facing diaper need and their existing capacity to connect those families with resources that make a difference.

Sarah Steward, HomeFront’s Chief Executive Officer, commented that she knows that long-term solutions are about “finding the right partners to bring a solution to bear.”

“I give a lot of credit to Assemblywoman Reynolds-Jackson for being laser focused on supporting women and families because we know that that is what’s going to drive the economic engine and create healthy futures for children down the road,” she added.

Steward also addressed the connection between diaper access and housing insecurity. “HomeFront is known primarily as an agency that supports families experiencing homelessness, and we do a lot of work trying to prevent homelessness before it happens. The diapers and other basic necessities we provide give room in the monthly budget for families living paycheck to paycheck,” Steward explains. “Wherever we can create space for people to save, that’s progress on their path to providing more stability for their families.”

With additional funding in place, HomeFront is seeking interested community groups with established relationships that might be interested in receiving bulk diapers to provide to the community. Groups interested in becoming a partner of the HomeFront Diaper Bank should complete the survey at bit.ly/hfdiapers2025.

For community members interested in helping HomeFront’s Diaper Bank, the organization coordinates an annual Diaper Challenge, aiming to collect 500,000+ diapers and baby wipes. The HomeFront Diaper Challenge will run from March 3rd through the day after Mother’s Day, May 12th.

HomeFront is a social service agency with a comprehensive slate of programs designed to empower families in economic crisis address whatever issues they are facing—both now and for the future. We offer safe and secure emergency housing, feed thousands of hungry households a year, provide other necessities such as diapers, personal and household items, and offer comprehensive wraparound services to partner with families on their path to stability. From our earliest days, we have honed our tools and our procedures as a “first responder,” as we worked toward our mission to end homelessness in Central New Jersey. For more information about how you can help, visit www.homefrontnj.org or call (609)-989-9417.