(JAMESBURG, NJ) — Easterseals New Jersey, a disability services nonprofit, and Cross River Bank, a technology infrastructure provider offering embedded financial solutions, have joined forces to assist hundreds of individuals and families who are experiencing partial or delayed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits amid the ongoing federal funding impasse.

With over 827,000 New Jersey residents relying on SNAP, including many with disabilities, continuing federal funding shortfalls and processing delays are deepening food insecurity and placing additional strain on local support networks. This strategic partnership aims to bridge immediate food access gaps while delays persist.

“When benefit systems pause, people don’t stop needing groceries, transportation or care,” said Brian Fitzgerald, Chief Executive Officer of Easterseals New Jersey. “This partnership with Cross River means we can act now.”

Easterseals New Jersey’s staff mobilized quickly to assess the needs of more than 4,000 program participants statewide and identify partners and resources to close emerging gaps. The team established a centralized resource hub linking residents to hundreds of food banks across all 21 counties and is directly coordinating with local vendors to prepare and distribute meals to those most affected. This swift response is particularly vital for individuals with disabilities, who already face heightened obstacles connected to employment, transportation, and access to care.

Through Cross River’s charitable giving arm, Foundation@, the Bank donated $18,000 to Easterseals New Jersey to fund the purchase of ShopRite gift cards for their program participants who rely on SNAP benefits. The donation also includes the packing and distribution of food packages to additional residents affected by the ongoing government shutdown, helping ensure individuals and families continue to access essential groceries while federal operations stabilize.

“Our employees exemplify resilience. When faced with the SNAP benefits uncertainty, they responded with unwavering commitment and heart,” said Brian Fitzgerald, Chief Executive Officer of Easterseals New Jersey. “The passion our team brings to their work is matched only by the generosity of partners like Cross River Bank, whose support helps us meet urgent needs and empower those we serve to thrive even in times of crisis”.​

Cross River has a history of providing aid in times of uncertainty. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bank provided crucial funding to small businesses in need, providing 480,000 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans totaling more than $13 billion, saving more than 1.4 million jobs across the country.

“At Cross River, we believe that community is the foundation of everything we do,” said Miriam L. Wallach, Chief Philanthropy Officer at Cross River. “When uncertainty affects our neighbors’ ability to meet basic needs, we have a responsibility to step up. Through our partnership with Easterseals, we’re ensuring that families have access to nutritious food and the support they deserve.”

The collaboration combines Cross River’s deep-rooted devotion to community with Easterseals’ long-standing expertise in delivering essential human services, uniting both organizations around a shared dedication to promote stability, inclusion, and dignity for all New Jersey residents.

Easterseals New Jersey encourages anyone who wishes to support its mission to visit www.eastersealsnj.org and help ensure that no family is left behind during these periods of uncertainty.

For more than 75 years, Easterseals New Jersey has empowered people with disabilities and special needs to live independently and reach personal milestones with equality and dignity. Each year, nearly 4,000 New Jersey residents access services designed to foster independence and community integration.​

Cross River provides technology infrastructure powering the future of financial services. Leveraging its proprietary real-time banking core, Cross River delivers innovative and scalable embedded payments, cards, lending, and crypto solutions to millions of consumers and businesses. Cross River is backed by leading investors and serves the world’s most essential fintech and technology companies. Leading the industry, Cross River is reshaping global finance and financial inclusion. Member FDIC.

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.

Advertisement

 
 
 
 
 

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.

 

---

Advertisement

Westfield Garden State Plaza presents 8th Annual Big Santa Celebration and annual lighting ceremony on Saturday
November 8, 2025

---

A New Production of Disney On Ice Brings an All-Star Cast of Over 50 Beloved Characters from Frozen, Encanto, Zootopia, Toy Story and more to Atlantic City
November 7-9, 2025

---

Hats Off To Downtown brings an evening of shopping, prizes, and fun to South Orange
November 14, 2025

---

2nd Annual NJ Wine Expo to Take Place November 15th
November 15, 2025

---

Jonas Brothers, David Bryan, and The Isley Brothers among New Jersey Hall of Fame Class of 2025
November 21, 2025

---

Advertisement

MPAC presents Theatre of Light: Celestial Winter
November 23, 2025

---

NJPAC presents Neil deGrasse Tyson: An Astrophysicist Goes to the Movies Part II
November 30, 2025

---

People Helping People presents 2025 Festival of Short Plays & Visual Arts
December 6, 2025

---

Morven Museum & Garden’s Festival of Trees Celebrates 20th Anniversary
November 19 to January 11, 2026

A South Jersey family’s fight for justice continues more than one year after their son was shot while driving home from work. The road rage incident left 30-year-old Kishan Patel permanently disabled.

Now, a former New York Police Department officer is expected to spend a decade behind bars after pleading guilty to shooting Patel.

Patel has spent the last year in a specialized facility in Texas as a quadriplegic with limited brain function requiring around the clock care.

On Friday, May 17, 2024, police responded to a multi-vehicle crash at the intersection of Route 73 and Cooper Road in Voorhees Township, New Jersey. When they arrived, they found Kishan Patel, 30, of Voorhees, suffering from a gunshot wound. Patel was taken to the hospital for treatment.

After analyzing surveillance video, cellphone records and ballistics evidence, Voorhees Township Police and the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office identified Hieu Tran, 27, of Yonkers, New York, as the suspect in the shooting. Police said Tran – an officer with the New York City Police Department – used his department-issued firearm and shot Patel during an apparent road rage incident.

Investigators said Tran was off-duty at the time of the incident and had just left a wedding in the area. After the shooting, Tran “calmly drove north, stopped for gas, went home to New York, reloaded his weapon and went to work the next day,” according to attorneys for Patel’s family.

Investigators said shell casings at the crime scene matched Tran’s department-issued service weapon.

Attorney Joseph Marrone is representing the Patel family who filed a lawsuit against the city of New York alleging that the city knew the former officer had significant mental health challenges with longstanding alcoholism.

“It was known by his superiors and other officers and they did nothing,” Marrone said.

The New York City law department declined to comment but the NYPD confirmed that Tran was terminated from the department.

Tran pleaded guilty to attempted murder and is expected to be sentenced on Dec. 15.

Top priorities as governor

The governor-elect said as soon as she is sworn into office, she will freeze utility costs, but she did not offer any specifics.

“We’ve already had some conversations, I’ve already even during the campaign had some conversations with some of our utility companies, as well as working with some policy experts on exactly what money is coming in through the [Board of Public Utilities], and how it might be used to do that,” she said.

Sherrill said she will also work on a kids online safety agenda, join the lawsuit to push back on tariffs enacted by the Trump administration and begin work on the next state budget.

There are other front-burner issues she said she is planning to pursue.

“Expanding the first time home-buyers credits, so people can get their food in the door, taking on landlords who are colluding to drive up rental prices,” she said.  “Taking on [pharmacy benefit managers], those are the middlemen in drug pricing to drive down drug costs.”

She said she will work to fix the state health benefits plan, improve third-grade reading scores across New Jersey’s schools and lower bloated school administration costs.

Working with Trump

Sherrill, who attacked President Donald Trump’s policies during the campaign, suggested she will put her differences aside and work with him to serve her constituents.

“We haven’t spoken yet, but certainly I’m going to be working very hard to get resources, federal resources back into New Jersey, to discuss and take on the Gateway Tunnel right away because that’s such a key issue and such an economic driver here,” Sherrill said.

On Oct. 16, Trump announced he canceled plans to build a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River, but U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the project is still under review.