By Jessica Ercolino, Staff Writer
During a time of year when giving has traditionally been commonplace, food pantry workers this season are seeing a significant drop in donations and a converse rise in visitors.
At the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, based in Neptune, the number of people visiting the food pantry has increased 32 percent, said Development Director Barbara Scholz.
”It’s due to the current downturn in the economy,” she said. “And the same economy that sees more in need is seeing less in terms of food.”
The FoodBank, a nonprofit organization, collects donated and surplus food in its warehouse and distributes it to more than 270 agencies serving families in need.
Ms. Scholz said last week the organization is aiming to collect 10,000 turkeys for the holiday season, but is still “a couple thousand” short of the mark.
One agency the FoodBank services is the Good Samaritan Food Pantry in the Imlaystown historic district of Upper Freehold, next to the Happy Apple Inn. The service is funded by donations of the Emley’s Hill United Methodist Church on Emley’s Hill Road.
Allentown resident Tim Hare has run the food pantry for seven years, creating complete Thanksgiving packages each year for those in need. This year, the service has about 70 frozen turkeys and all the fixings available Nov. 21 at the church.
”It’s a good opportunity for people who need a little extra help this year,” he said. “We don’t ask questions. We don’t judge. We’re here to be your friend.”
The number of people visiting the Good Samaritan has significantly increased over the last three years, Mr. Hare said. When he first started in 2001, there were about seven visitors a month. Now, he said, he sees more than 300 monthly visitors.
”Living in New Jersey is expensive, and when you look at the area, we’re pretty affluent, but we don’t know the circumstances,” he said. “If someone can find us, we’ll feed them. We don’t check what you make. All we need is a name, address and signature.”
Mr. Hare said it has been challenging the last few months to keep the shelves stocked. The pantry, open Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings, even had to close a few days because it ran out of food, he said.
He added that the food being stocked in the pantry is not “plain Jane, government issued food,” but “good quality stuff.” Panera Bread and The Pork Roll Store on Yardville-Allentown Road have provided donations.
On Wednesday, a group of students from the Spanish Club at Upper Freehold Regional Middle School was expected to visit the Good Samaritan, bearing bins of Hispanic food donations.
The group, lead by teacher Courtney VanArsdale, lasts only for a marking period and the students wanted to do something for the community as part of their last meeting together. They organized the Comidas de Casa — “food from home” — food collection last month.
”Because it’s close to the holidays, we thought it would be nice to start a collection,” Ms. VanArsdale said. “There is an increased number of Hispanic people in the community, and we didn’t want them to only have to sift through Chef Boyardee.”
The group collected four U.S. mail bins full of food, including Goya products, beans, rice, flan mix, tortillas, taco mix, Spanish cookies and more.
Eighth-grader Ricky Ramezzana said the club put up posters and collected donations, adding that students there were receptive to the idea of giving.
”It feels good to give food around the holidays because it makes Hispanic people feel like they’re home with the foods that they eat or might miss,” he said.
Dan Stabulis, another eighth-grade student, agreed.
”It’s important to participate in something like this because I feel like in the past it’s always been about me,” he said. “It’s good to give back to people in our community.”
Ms. Scholz, of the FoodBank, noted that it is important for the public to realize that while the need for food is greatest around the holiday season, hunger is a year-round phenomenon.
”Everyone thinks about food around Thanksgiving, but the donations go down after December,” she said. “During March and April, our inventory drops again and is very low in the summer because children are no longer receiving school lunches.”
More than 100,000 people in Monmouth and Ocean counties live on incomes that put them at risk of hunger at some time each month, according to the FoodBank’s Web site. At least 40 percent of those are children and 10 percent are elderly.
Those wishing to help can drop off food at any of the FoodBank’s locations, listed on its Web site, www.foodbankmoc.org. Monetary donations are also accepted.
Meat and protein items are the most in demand, according to the site. Peanut butter, canned or frozen fish, cheese, ready meals, cereals, paper supplies and toiletries are all in high demand.
The Good Samaritan Food Pantry, located in Imlaystown, will be relocating to the Emley’s Hill Church on Dec. 5 and will celebrate with a holiday party. For more information, contact Tim Hare at 609-851-9383.
For more information about the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, visit www.foodbankmoc.org.
