REGIONAL: Local pantry needs help

By Amy Batista, Special Writer
   The Harvest of Hope Food Pantry is almost out of food. Its shelves are almost bare.
   ”We are in need of everything,” said Sue Rosser, director of the food pantry. “Our people are not fussy about what we give them to eat; they really need food.”
   Unfortunately, during the summer months the donations come to a near stop, Pastor Robert Russell said.
   Items the pantry is requesting include tuna, chicken, soup, canned pasta sauce, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and jelly and food that kids will eat such as cereal and canned pasta.
   ”Basically, what any family will eat,” she said.
   The Harvest of Hope has 137 families registered to receive food.
   ”There are families with eight people or one,” she said. “We average 57 of these families each week.”
   ”There are times that our shelves are low on food,” Ms. Rosser said. “Especially, when donations are down or someone breaks in and helps themselves. Right now is typically when donations dry up or slow down and we usually see fewer families with a need for food.”
   Pastor Russell said they are “constantly seeing new faces and people that need assistance.”
   The food pantry is housed in the Rose of Sharon Evangelical Lutheran Church, located at 42 Chesterfield-Jacobstown Road. The pantry was established by the congregation in 2005, he said.
   ”Each year Rose of Sharon Lutheran Church would provide Christmas baskets and toys to families in need,” Ms. Rosser said. “After giving out the baskets, Pastor Russell wondered where people went for food the rest of the year. He found that no food pantry existed in the Jacobstown area, there was a need, and I was told by Pastor we are opening one.”
   Harvest of Hope officially opened on April 1, 2006, the brainchild or “heart child” of Pastor Russell, she said.
   ”We have been serving members of our community and offering assistance with food, rental assistance and utilities,” he said.
   Ms. Rosser said the “first load of food” was purchased by its youth group who took their savings and went to a can-can sale.
   ”Since that first day we have fed anyone from Monmouth, Ocean, Burlington and Mercer counties that found their way to our door and had a real need for food,” she said.
   She said the pantry is “dependent on kind people and families that donate a large portion of food and funding.”
   Ms. Rosser said the pantry has been receiving organic veggies from Farmers Against Hunger, which was started in 1996 as a way to enable farmers throughout New Jersey to contribute their extra produce to those in need, according to its website.
   Local churches and Scouts along with members of the community and local schools continuously help.
   ”There are so many people and organizations that keep our shelves full,” she said. “Our church is located in a wonderful piece of this world. We are blessed to be in this community of kind people who care and want to teach their children their same good values. This community has stood with us with donations and their time from the very first day our doors opened. We cannot thank them enough.”
   The Scouts, both boys and girls, hold food drives for the pantry.
   ”They are a tremendous help,” she said.
   Chesterfield Baptist Church is a “tremendous blessing.”
   ”They donate a lot of food every week without fail,” she said. “When we are extra worried about having enough food, I know calling Pastor (Edward) DeSilva will be a big help.”
   The pantry is open every Wednesday from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m.
   ”People often show up early to get in line, sometimes very early at two and three o’clock,” she said. “Because of the amount of people that we provide for, if their bags are packed, we open early and get them on the way.”
   Ms. Rosser noted that the board also has the responsibility of distributing food, accepting donations during food drives, stocking shelves, packing bags every week and helping gather items needed for all holiday baskets.
   ”That’s in addition to helping to make any important decisions for our pantry,” she added. “I really want to thank this community and ask God to bless them for sharing their funds, time, food and students.”