S. BRUNSWICK: Pantry seeking food and cash

by Sean Ruppert, Staff Writer
   A struggling economy is one reason why more people are seeking help from the South Brunswick Food Pantry.
   The township’s Social Services Food Pantry saw its largest number of needy families ever in October, according to Director LouAnne Wolf.
   Ms. Wolf said that 53 families received aid from the pantry in October, compared with 32 families who received aid in October 2007.
   The number of families that have come to the pantry for aid has increased every month in 2008, as compared to the same time period in 2007. The pantry is now averaging about 40 families a month that need help. The average for 2007 was about 25 families per month.
   ”It’s the economy, there is no question about it,” Ms. Wolf said. “Everyone is hurting, it is hitting people really hard.”
   Social Services is in the process of putting together its Holiday Program, which provides Thanksgiving and Christmas meals for needy families.
   Ms. Wolf said the department is doing thorough checks to make sure that everyone who applies for the aid is actually in need.
   Ms. Wolf said that the recent Scouting for Food drive from the township’s Boy Scouts gathered a lot of items needed for the program, but pantry still needs help.
   She said pantry needs donations of paper goods, Parmalat, coffee, tea, peanut butter, jelly, snack foods, canned meats, cereal, oatmeal, boxed potatoes, pancake mix, maple syrup, stuffing and diapers.
   Those who are interested in donating food for the pantry or the holiday program can do so by bringing items to Social Services in the lower level of the Municipal Building on Ridge Road in Monmouth Junction. The office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Donations can be made at any time in a bin outside the department’s office.
   Those interested in donating to the Human Intervention Trust Fund can do so by making out a check to the Human Intervention Trust Fund, and mailing it to South Brunswick Township P.O. Box 190 Monmouth Junction, N.J. 08852, attention: Social Services.
   The Human Intervention Trust Fund, which assists people with monthly bills and other necessary expenses, such as rent and utilities, has offered about $10,000 more in assistance during the first nine months of this year than it did during the same period in 2007. Ms. Wolf said Social Services provided $57,184 from the trust fund through the September this year. It spent about $47,000 during the same period in 2007, she said.