The FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties observed Hunger Action Day Sept. 3, kicking off a month of efforts to combat hunger and poverty. The FoodBank provides support for 300 area feeding programs, serving 1 in 10 of the residents throughout the two counties through its donation program and organic community garden. PHOTOS BY ADAM C. UZIALKO/staff The FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties played host to volunteers and members of the public on Hunger Action Day to usher in a month of assistance for those with a lack of access to nutritional foods.
On Sept. 3, the Neptune headquarters of the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties was decorated in bright orange colors — the hue for Hunger Action Month — with a swarm of volunteers at work sorting and packing the large volume of donations that would be delivered to 300 partner feeding programs throughout the counties of Monmouth and Ocean.
“Today is a way of organizing members of the community to take action,” Executive Director Linda Keenan said. “It’s a day of awareness and neighbors helping neighbors.
“We see new faces every day. There are always people who need assistance for the first time.”
The FoodBank supports 171 programs, including soup kitchens, food pantries and churches, in Monmouth County alone.
“We serve one in 10 residents in the two counties,” Keenan said in an interview. “That’s 131,000 people, 40,000 of which are children.”
In 2014, the FoodBank delivered 11 million meals to its partner feeding programs, she added.
The FoodBank’s 30,000-square-foot warehouse is filled to the brim with produce, protein and snack foods, but if donations stopped rolling in, it would be empty in one month.
“That’s how real the need is,” Keenan said. “A lot of people think it’s just unemployed people who need help, but it’s not.
“Many of our clients work one or two jobs and just can’t make ends meet.”
The FoodBank relies heavily on donations, but also runs its own organic garden on site in Neptune City. Susan Keymer is the FoodBank’s master gardener, overseeing the bounty of tomatoes, eggplant and other “typical New Jersey fare.”
“It’s important to show people what is possible at their own level,” Keymer said, adding that growing fresh produce does not require a lot of space. “You can do it yourself, and nothing beats fresh.”
According to Keymer, volunteers are always welcome to work in the garden and gain some direct experience.
“We always need extra hands,” she said.
Cliff Fishman, who was also at the organic garden, said it’s a good feeling to see a lot of fresh veggies when he volunteers in the sorting room.
“If we can supply fresh produce, that’s important to us,” Fishman said. “You can really see that people go for that.”
According to Fishman, the FoodBank’s current goal is for one-third of all food provided to feeding programs to be fresh.
Judy Daniels, the FoodBank’s volunteer coordinator, said in 2014 volunteers logged 22,000 hours of work. “We’re stretched thin here,” Daniels said. “Volunteers are an amazing source of help. We couldn’t do it without them.”
Volunteers mostly sort and pack food to prepare it for delivery, checking the expiration date and quality of what goes out the doors.
However, Daniels said there are also volunteers who help clients prepare income tax returns or apply for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food stamps. Volunteers also help the FoodBank run a job training program, she said.
Maury Vahle-Schmitt volunteered at the FoodBank several months ago and fell in love with it. On Hunger Action Day she was helping coordinate volunteers and keep the trains running on time.
“I volunteered because I wanted to give back to the community and help out a good cause,” Vahle-Schmitt said. “It’s been overwhelmingly accepting and friendly.
“We get to help a wide range of people with different needs and cultures,” she added. “Everyone is here because they really want to be.”
Four-time Olympian Joetta Clark Diggs and Sean Davis, a New York Red Bulls midfielder and Long Branch native, made appearances at the FoodBank to lend their support for Hunger Action Day as well.
According to Keenan, this was just the start of a month-long effort on the part of many community organizations to address the problem of hunger. Later this month the FoodBank will help organize “Students Change Hunger,” in which schools throughout the counties compete to see which district’s students can collect the most food for the FoodBank.
Last year, 80 schools participated, Collecting 62,000 pounds of food and $22,000 in monetary donations. According to Keenan, $1 provides three meals, so that total was turned into an additional 66,000 meals.
“This is a chance for people to see us and find out what we’re about,” Keenan said of Hunger Action Day. “We have a strong focus on nutritional foods and we ‘walk the talk.’
“We know there is a definite correlation between healthy food and good health,” she added. “And during the Hunger Action Month everyone has the opportunity to make a difference.”