About Us
Rent Party began in 2009 as a series of live music events to help fight hunger in our community. From 2009 until 2020, the shows featured original music by many of the best bands in the NJ/NY area, and a handful of times a year, nationally known acts. Today, Rent Party's mission continues year-round through BackPack Pals and The Garden.
And, before you ask, "What's a Rent Party?", "A rent party is a social occasion where tenants hire a musician or band to play and pass the hat to raise money to pay their rent, originating in Harlem during the 1920s." We love the imagery that this evokes: Music & Community.
In addition to our own programs, Rent Party has supported three local food pantries and community hunger-fighting initiatives. For many years, Rent Party has partnered with the South Orange-Maplewood School District's Parenting Center on the Annual Toy Drive. Last year, the drive brought toys to over 300 children across our two communities.
Rent Party Pantry, Inc. is a 501(c)(3).
BackPack Pals
BackPack Pals provides a weekend's worth of nutritious food to more than 100 food-insecure kids in our community each week during the school year. Our volunteers deliver food each Friday to every school in our community (K-12).
Our program bridges the gap between in-school lunch on Friday and in-school breakfast on Monday morning. BackPack Pals started in 2012, and we have distributed thousands of packs.
It costs about $400 per child for the school year to keep it going. Please consider making a donation today.
The Garden flourishes in the full sun of the front lawn of the South Orange Elks Lodge on Prospect Street and is a wonderfully unique partnership with the Elks. The 32 raised bed garden has fed the community since 2012. In the 2026 season, The Garden raised nearly 2,500 pounds of fresh produce, donated to local food pantries — including Our Lady of Sorrows and St. Joseph's — and community initiatives, including SOMA Justice. Next to The Garden is the Little Pantry, which provides support for food-insecure folks, and next to that is a Little Library!
Community Grows Here.