EDISON – Community supporters helped the Edison Housing Authority distribute more than 250 frozen turkeys to needy families on Nov. 20.
Edison Housing Authority (EHA) and local supporters spent the Friday before Thanksgiving coordinating the distribution of more than 250 frozen turkeys, chickens and dry goods to create memorable holiday meals for its Section 8 and public housing families.
Food insecurity has drastically increased in the community since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Deborah Hurley, executive director of EHA, said in a prepared statement; more than 100 families visit EHA’s food pantry every third Thursday of the month.
“It takes a village to do what we do at the EHA, and we so are grateful for the generous support we received from Edison Township and surrounding organizations that banded together to ensure our families did not go without,” Hurley said in the statement.
The local community also donated hundreds of dollars, thousands of dollars’ worth of gift certificates to Stop & Shop, ShopRite and Walmart, event preparation assistance, and day-of support.
“So many people donated not only food but also their time and effort to help our families share this important meal together,” Hurley said in the statement.
In particular, Hurley mentioned Edison New Jersey Fire Fighters IAFF Local 1197; Jay Elliot, director of health and human services at Edison Township; Edison’s Community-Oriented Policing Unit, led by Chief Thomas Bryan and Deputy Chief Howard Askelson, as well as assigned personnel Sgt. Ship, Officer Iorio and Officer Dong; ShopRite of South Plainfield; Stop & Shop on Inman Avenue in Edison; Regina Arnold, principal at Martin Luther King Elementary School; New Life Ministries; Council President Joyce Ship-Freeman; The Robert E. Holmes Gardens and Julius Engel Gardens Tenant Association; and the Board of Commissioners of the EHA.
EHA will continue accepting donations and gift certificates to help those in need throughout the holiday season, including toys for children ages 2-13.
Email Hurley at [email protected] or call Michelle Thorne, director of property management, at 908-561-2525 to coordinate donation efforts.