'Made me a better person': How Toms River one-week COVID food giveaway became permanent

TOMS RIVER - It was planned as a one-week program to help get food to residents thrown out of work by the coronavirus pandemic.

But three years later, on a raw, drizzly Friday, a group of volunteers gathered at the Presbyterian Church of Toms River — as they do every week — to give out food. Toms River's free good giveaway has not missed a week since March 2020, and now it's poised to become permanent, as a member pantry of food bank Fulfill.

"To me, honestly, you get a lot more out of this than you give," said former Toms River Councilman Terrance Turnbach, who has been there from the start. "I shows me what community is all about. I think it's the essence of what community is all about."

As a line of cars pulled into the church parking lot, volunteers prepared food "crisis boxes" donated by Fulfill, which provide enough food to feed a family of four for six days and are provided to Toms River at no cost. Volunteers approach each car and ask how many boxes are needed, then place the boxes in each vehicle.

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They supplement the Fulfill boxes — which contain items like rice, cereal, pasta, canned tuna and beans — with bags of fresh fruit and vegetables, donated by M.V. Silveri & Sons of Lakewood; Stop & Shop has donated bread. This past Friday, bags of carrots, potatoes, onions and broccoli were handed out to those in need

At 11 a.m. on Fridays, a small van brings 1,000 hot meals, donated by Chef Lou's Army, helmed by Chef Lou Smith of Blend on Main restaurant in Manasquan.

Jeanette Schlafer of Point Pleasant was also there at the start, helping to give out food at Washington Street School. People who pull in looking for food do not have to register and aren't asked any questions. Volunteers say many have never previously visited a food pantry.

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"It has made me a better person," Schlafer said. "You learn not to make snap judgments, not to assume."

Recently, a woman who drove into the food distribution site was near tears. She told volunteers that her husband had recently left her, and she was parenting two children with disabilities by herself. She had never asked for food before.

Volunteers not only gave her food that day, but helped connect her to various social services for which she was eligible, including special education placements for her kids. Schlafer said these types of connections happen often at the food distribution; a good Samaritan comes by once or twice a month and gives volunteers a $100 bill, telling them he wants the money to go to someone who needs it the most.

"I feel truly blessed to be a part of it," Schlafer said.

In the difficult early days of the pandemic, Toms River started its food giveaway program at four locations in town, along with one in neighboring South Toms River. These days, the main food distribution is at the Presbyterian Church on Hooper Avenue, but volunteers also deliver meals to homebound residents throughout town, and bring any leftover food to other nearby food pantries.

Fulfill donates 400 crisis boxes each week; officially the food distribution runs from 9 a.m .to 1 p.m., but Turnbach said some people arrive much earlier, sometimes by 6 or 6:30 a.m. By mid-morning March 24, well over half the crisis boxes had already been given out.

Inflation, including higher costs for everything from gas to rent to groceries, has kept demand for food up during the last year, even as pandemic restrictions have disappeared, volunteers said.

"You get to see and deal directly with people," said Brick resident Tom Kay, a regular volunteer, who said working at the food distribution has made him see how many people struggle to put food on the table each weeks. "I am flabbergasted that people in this day and age need this much food. They have come to depend on us. It's very fulfilling."

Turnbach said he is working with the Presbyterian Church to establish the food distribution site as a permanent member of Fulfill's pantry network. Janelle Garcia, vice president of Community Impact at Fulfill, said that once an organization is a partner with the food bank, they can continue to receive food donations from Fulfill.

Fulfill, formerly the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean counties, has a network of 289 member pantries.

Requirements for member pantries include adhering to "food safety and handling protocols and other rules meant to ensure the quality and safety of the food they distribute to residents," Garcia said. She said participating pantries must also provide "equal access to all those who request food assistance." That's required by Feeding America, which provides Fulfill with millions of pounds of USDA commodities each year.

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Garcia said once Fulfill receives the necessary paperwork from the Toms River site, the food bank will schedule a site visit and complete its review process. Once the site becomes a member pantry, volunteers can order items through an online portal for food ordering and delivery, she said.

Turnbach praised the Presbyterian Church for allowing their property to be used for the food deliveries, and now as a permanent spot for a food pantry. "We try to bring calm to their lives," Turnbach said of the people who come to get food each week. "They are going to leave here with one less worry."

"It's like a family," said Toms River Mayor Maurice B. "Mo" Hill Jr., as he helped place a crisis box in the front seat of a woman's car. "I think everybody looks forward to it. You feel like you are doing something pretty good."

Toms River's free food distribution takes place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Fridays at the Presbyterian Church, 1070 Hooper Ave. For more information about the Fulfill food bank, go to fulfillnj.org.

Jean Mikle covers Toms River and several other Ocean County towns, and has been writing about local government and politics at the Jersey Shore for nearly 37 years. She's also passionate about the Shore's storied music scene. Contact her: @jeanmikle,  jmikle@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Toms River NJ makes weekly food giveaway a permanent program to help