SOUTH BRUNSWICK: Need increases at the food pantry

by Davy James, Staff Writer
   With the number of families in need of assistance increasing, the South Brunswick Food Pantry is looking for aid from the community to help the less fortunate make it through the recession.
   Since the beginning of the year, 25 new families have come to the pantry for help, raising the total number of families who receive aid from the pantry to 42 a month.
   ”We’re getting a lot of new families and not just our regulars,” said Social Services director LouAnne Wolf. “We started similarly last year but we didn’t hit 40 families per month until the end of the year.”
   Ms. Wolf said the number of people coming for help has jumped over the last two months.
   The pantry is being stretched by the increase in people needing aid, a trend that is showing no signs of slowing as people struggle to make ends meet during the economic slowdown.
   ”We saw 32 families in February and then jumped to 42 in March,” she said. “Because we had a 10-family jump from February to March, we foresee this continuing for awhile and that’s what is cornering us.”
   The pantry is in need of cereal, juice boxes, bottled water, snack foods, personal care products such as toothpaste and shampoo, pasta and sauce, canned meats, hearty soups and Parmalat. Monetary donations are also appreciated.
   ”People aren’t just coming to us for food but other help as well,” Ms. Wolf said.
   For more information on the services offered, to donate or to receive aid call 732-329-4000, ext. 7674.
   The South Brunswick Food Pantry is located in the South Brunswick Municipal Building at 540 Ridge Road in Monmouth Junction.