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2nd
Nov 2023
Nov 2023
Fulfill NJ Provides Food for Seniors in Need This Holiday Season
By Eric San Juan
When the holidays come across, many turn their eyes towards those in need. For Fulfill NJ, however, the holidays are the same as any other time of year: a time to help ensure the hungry get fed.
Formerly known as the FoodBank of Monmouth & Ocean Counties, Fulfill is responsible for the mobile food pantry that visits the Holiday City/Silver Ridge Park communities each month. The organization also operates the B.E.A.T. Center at 1769 Hooper Ave., Toms River.
As of 2014, over 136,000 individuals in Ocean and Monmouth counties relied on the generosity of local food banks in order to eat, and that number rose sharply to 215,000 families since 2020. Many of them are senior citizens trying to stretch a very limited income.
Overall, 1 in 10 people in the area have received some sort of emergency food from soup kitchens, food pantries, and other charitable organizations. Each month in Berkeley, between 70 to 100 people visit the mobile food pantry to ensure they have enough to eat for the month ahead.
“We now serve enough food for 1 million meals each month,” said Fulfill CEO and President Triada Stampas.
The mobile food pantry serves the Holiday City / Silver Ridge Park area the fourth Friday of every month from 10 to 11am. It set up outside of Clubhouse 2 of Holiday City, 631 Jamaica Blvd.
A second distribution site is located at 44 Frederick Drive, Bayville, in front of the Housing Office, where it sets up every fourth Thursday of the month from 10 to 10:45am.
The visit provides direct access to free food for Berkeley retirres who can use the help. This includes fresh fruits, vegetables, canned goods and more, most of it donated by grocery stores and residents throughout the area.
Applicants must meet certain income requirements to qualify for assistance. Applications can also be filled out on-site on distribution days. Volunteers are on-hand to help people through the process.
The food comes from donations, both from individual as well as from corporate partners. This includes local grocery stores.
“Every one of our partners means the world to us. Most importantly, we have a strong network of 300 feeding partners that ensure we are reaching thousands of our neighbors every week,” Stampas said. “We could not fulfill our mission at the Jersey Shore without our partners’ contributions.”
In addition to the two Berkeley locations, other mobile food pantry stops include in Lakehurst at 204 Elm St. on the first Tuesday of the month from 9:30 to 10:30am; 3204 Hilltop Road in Manchester on the first Tuesday of the month from 11:30 to 12:30pm; and in Toms River at 923 Oak Avenue on the fourth Wednesday of the month from 12:30-1:30pm.
But they can’t do it alone. They need your help, either through volunteering or direct donations. Almost everything they do and give to the community – upwards of 87 percent of all operations – comes via donations.
To find out how to volunteer or to donate to Fulfill NJ, visit fulfillnj.org or call 732-918-2600.