UPDATE - March 11, 2020 6pm

On Tuesday night, we shared an update that our 2020 Annual Conference would take place. We based the decision to move forward on the information available to us at the time, including guidance at the time from the NJ Department of Health on public gatherings. We noted in Tuesday’s email that this decision could change based on the fluidity of the situation.

Regrettably, in our regular status call today, the NJFPA leadership concluded that conditions have changed, and the prudent step is to postpone this year's conference.

I am proud of our loyal members that were part of our conference team. They did everything they could, down to the wire, to make this event happen. We were determined to go forward only if we could host our guests safely and responsibly while delivering the quality education and networking experience that you should expect from an organization like ours.

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience that this late decision may cause. Our team is already looking at how to approach rescheduling this event and will be back in touch as soon as we have updates.

We will be in contact, over the coming days, with everyone who was registered for the conference to discuss. Thanks in advance for giving our staff a couple of days to get to you.

If you had a hotel room reserved, Ocean Casino Resort will allow cancellations without a penalty until noon on Thursday.

I'm sorry I won't see you on Friday - and hope that you have a good weekend.

Mark Macellaro

President, NJFPA

March 10, 2020

We know many have been reaching out to confirm the status of the New Jersey Food Processors Annual Conference, scheduled for this Friday in Atlantic City, NJ.

The conference will proceed as planned.

NJFPA has been closely monitoring the situation over the last several weeks. This monitoring has included multiple conversations with our conference site. At this point, there has not been a mandated canceling of large gatherings. Just today, the NJ Health Commissioner said that the state does not see a reason to ban public events at this point.

On Friday, with the support of our partners at the Ocean Resort, we will be taking proactive steps to do everything in our power to keep our guests safe and healthy. These steps mirror actions in place at the AC Convention Center as they host a large multi-day conference this week. They include sanitizing stations and tissues throughout our event space, along with an increased frequency in the sanitizing of bathrooms and emptying of garbage.

We know many conferences are being canceled. At the same time, there is far more going on, including the International Restaurant and Food Service Show in New York City and a large multi-day event at the Atlantic City Convention Center.

This note is also an excellent time to share facts about the virus that specifically relates to gathering and how you can remain healthy. We recommend learning more about prevention strategies as published by the Centers for Disease Control (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/prevention-treatment.html)

Take steps to protect yourself

• Clean your hands often
  
• Avoid close contact
  
  

• Stay home if you’re sick
  
• Cover coughs and sneezes with your arm and not your hand
• Clean and disinfect surfaces in your home and office
  

We understand there will be attendees who are choosing not to attend this year, and we respect that decision. For those who will be joining us, we look forward to a great day of learning and networking.

Please understand we are constantly monitoring the situation and will update you again if there is a change to the conference. If you have any questions, we are here to answer them. We will send a final update on Thursday afternoon, sooner should circumstances warrant.



The NJFPA Executive Committee