SOUTH AMBOY — The First Presbyterian Church’s food pantry is gearing up for a time of year when the need is especially great: Thanksgiving.
And the pantry itself is getting assistance in providing that help to others, said Shirley Weaver who, as part of her role as moderator of board of deacons, is in charge of pantry.
“This month we’re actually very blessed and lucky,” Weaver said.
Weaver is referring to the more than a dozen volunteers from specialty chemical company Croda, of Edison, who are scheduled to help today when a month’s worth of food will come in from the Community FoodBank of New Jersey in Hillside.
“Usually we have very few volunteers [on pantry bagging day],” Weaver said. “It’s really nice to have that many volunteers come in.”
Croda employees started helping last Christmas, and were back in Easter, she said, adding that lately she’s been hearing from other organizations that are looking to help as well. One is Habit OPCO, an outpatient rehabilitation clinic in the city. Weaver said patients may do some volunteer work as part of their recovery.
“I think that’s really nice,” she said.
The help is certainly welcome, as the demand for such services keeps increasing, Weaver said. Last year, an average of 55 families availed themselves of the pantry’s services. Now the average is about 70.
“The need has been gradually going up for the past two to three years,” Weaver said. Many new clients, she said, are middle class families that are no longer able to get by due to a job loss or other change in situation.
Weaver plans on making up at least 90 Thanksgiving bags for distribution this month. She hopes to have a turkey or a chicken for each family, as well as ground turkey for those who may be on their own. Bags will consist of mashed potatoes, stuffing and canned vegetables, among other seasonal items.
Most families find the food pantry through word-of-mouth, but others discover the resource through an Internet search or through referral, Weaver said, adding that while some are local families, others come from as far as Woodbridge, Jamesburg and New Brunswick.
“As long as you live in the state of New Jersey, we can help you,” Weaver said, adding that she must redirect New York residents to services in their home state.
Food is distributed the third Saturday of the month from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., but Weaver fields calls for emergency food all month long.
The pantry is always seeking donations — there are baskets in the church, and Weaver works at the pantry weekday mornings. She requests that donations are nonperishable to ensure they don’t go to waste. She said she is proud of the fact the pantry is completely staffed by volunteers, and 100 percent of all donations go toward families in need.
“Any donation’s a good one,” she said. “We love donations.”
She said that running the food pantry is a rotational position, but regardless of her role there, she will always volunteer at the pantry in some capacity.
“You can’t come and volunteer once and not feel good about it,” she said.