Hunger Action Day kicks off month of service at FoodBank

By ADAM C. UZIALKO
Staff Writer

 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 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 food bank 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 two counties.

“Today is a way of organizing members of the community to take action,” Executive Director Linda Keenan said. “It is 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 food bank supports 171 programs, including soup kitchens, food pantries and churches, in Monmouth County alone.

“We serve one in 10 residents in Monmouth and Ocean counties,” Keenan said. “That’s 131,000 people, 40,000 of whom are children.”

In 2014, the food bank delivered 11 million meals to its partner feeding programs, she added. The food bank’s 30,000-square-foot warehouse is filled with produce, protein and snack foods, but if donations stopped rolling in, it would be empty in one month.

“That is how real the need is,” Keenan said. “A lot of people think it is 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 food bank relies heavily on donations, but also runs its own organic garden on site in Neptune City. Susan Keymer is the food bank’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.

Cliff Fishman, who was also at the organic garden, said it is a good feeling to see a lot of fresh vegetables when he volunteers in the sorting room.

“If we can supply fresh produce, that is important to us,” Fishman said. “You can really see that people go for that.”

According to Fishman, the food bank’s current goal is for one-third of all food provided to feeding programs to be fresh. Judy Daniels, the food bank’s volunteer coordinator, said that in 2014, volunteers logged 22,000 hours of work.

“We are stretched thin here,” Daniels said. “Volunteers are an amazing source of help. We could not 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 food stamps. Volunteers also help the food bank run a job training program, she said.

Maury Vahle-Schmitt volunteered at the food bank several months ago and fell in love with it. On Hunger Action Day she was helping to coordinate volunteers and keep things running on time.

“I volunteered because I wanted to give back to the community and help out a good cause,” Vahle-Schmitt said. “It has been overwhelmingly accepting and friendly. We get to help a wide range of people with different needs and cultures. 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 food bank to lend their support for Hunger Action Day.

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 in September the food bank will help organize “Students Change Hunger,” in which schools throughout the two counties compete to see which district’s students can collect the most food for the food bank.

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 are 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 and during Hunger Action Month, everyone has the opportunity to make a difference.”