POCKETS OF NEED

Neighbors helping neighbors: volunteers lend a hand at food pantry.

By: Joseph Harvie
   Editor’s note: Pockets of Need is an occasional series that focuses attention on issues of hunger and economic need in South Brunswick.
   The township-run Food Pantry was busy Tuesday morning.
   Five volunteers were shuffling around cans of food in the pantry, as they tried to stay ahead of the township Public Works employees who were bringing in large boxes of canned goods that were collected by the students at Crossroads South Middle School.
   Working between carts entering and leaving the trailer next to the Community Center that serves as the pantry, volunteers Donna Burzynski, Susan Aaron, Millicent Robinson, Bill Pavlisak and Kathy Kennedy were both stocking shelves and loading boxes that were then brought over to the small office in the Community Center, where they were placed with gift donations for needy township families.
   The donated food and gifts are for the township Department of Social Services’ annual Holiday Program.
   Through the Holiday Program, residents and businesses adopt township families in need and provide them with presents and food for the winter holidays. The families also receive boxes of food that are used in holiday meals. These items include stuffing, canned vegetables, instant mashed potatoes and cake mixes.
   The items are then picked up or brought to the houses, apartments or hotel rooms in which the families and individuals are living.
   LouAnne Wolf, township social services director, said all 124 families with children and 41 individuals and couples without children have been adopted by township families and businesses.
   Ms. Burzynski, who has been volunteering at the pantry for five years, said Tuesday that she is there because she enjoys giving back to the community.
   "I love to help others and make a difference in the world," Ms. Burzynski said. "We have fun working here."
   She said she has seen a lot of township residents come in this year and donate to the people that need help, especially this time of year.
   "So many people have reached out," Ms. Burzynski said. "People have been so generous and it has been a great experience for me."
   While all families have been accounted for so far, there was some uncertainty on Tuesday for Ms. Wolf and the volunteers.
   The pantry is running out of boxes. The volunteers place food items needed for the needy families in boxes. Ms. Wolf said she had been getting the boxes from a local shipping company, but they ran out.
   Ms. Wolf said she made several phone calls, which resulted in Victory Packaging in Dayton donating 100 boxes on Tuesday and a promise that it would donate more throughout the year.
   Pantry volunteers also said the pantry was running low on several items, including snack foods, coffee and rice. Also there were only three cans of gravy on the pantry shelves.
   The volunteers remained optimistic that they would get donations to help keep the pantry shelves stocked.
   They were working hard, taking cans from the various bins in the trailer and placing items into boxes. They joked with one another as they put together what will become holiday meals.
   Ms. Robinson said she doesn’t see volunteering as a waste of her time.
   "It is rewarding," Ms. Robinson said. "Helping out our community is what the spirit of Christmas and the spirit of the holidays is all about."
   Ms. Aaron agreed. She said she has been volunteering for the past six months and enjoys working with the other volunteers.
   Mr. Pavlisak was also helping out at the pantry Tuesday by putting boxes together and, once they were filled, carrying them over to the Community Center where they wait to be distributed.
   Mr. Pavlisak said he got involved with the pantry while he was out of work.
   "My wife starting helping out before going back to work last year," Mr. Pavlisak said. "I was out of work then and still am, so I have extra time to help people in need of food and in need of help."
   Ms. Kennedy was also helping to sort out the food and getting the items into the packages. She said she started helping out because she had some spare time and thought this would be a productive way to use it.
   "I figured if I can give at least one morning a week, I could help someone else in the process," Ms. Kennedy said.
   Ms. Wolf said the volunteers have been working hard this year and have helped keep the process of sorting food and getting the boxes together run more smoothly.
   Although all the families have been adopted, the pantry could still use donations of supermarket gift cards to help buy turkeys and other items. She said these cards can help individuals and couples in need.
   If people want to help, they can make a donation to the township Human Intervention Trust Fund, which is low on funds, Ms. Wolf said. The trust fund is used to help residents in need pay their bills, Ms. Wolf said. A family can be helped only once a year, she said.
   Checks should be made out to the South Brunswick Human Intervention Trust Fund and sent to P.O. Box 190, Monmouth Junction, NJ 08852. Mark the envelope Attention LouAnne Wolf or Social Services.
   Anyone interested in volunteering at the pantry or taking part in the Holiday Program can contact Ms. Wolf at (732) 329-4000, ext. 7674.