Community Corner

Desperate Times for South Brunswick Food Pantry

Shelves are empty as Social Services is busier than it's ever been with rising need from the less fortunate.

The South Brunswick Food Pantry is continuing to experience an increased need from the less fortunate and has seen its food stocks hit alarmingly low levels.

"I've been working here for 19 years and August was the busiest month we've ever had," said Social Services Director LouAnne Wolf. "We're averaging anywhere from 15 to 20 families a week, which has been insane. I'm trying to keep up with this as best I can."

Wolf said her schedule is completely booked throughout the rest of the month as more and more people find themselves in need of assistance with food and for help paying bills.

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"People are seeing their unemployment extensions ending, there are no jobs out there and they can't make ends meet," she said. "It's really bad out there. If somebody's car breaks down and they're living paycheck to paycheck, that has a huge impact because they have to get to work. But that takes away from other bills that need to be paid."

Social Services is almost completely out of Salvation Army funds as the situation for many unemployed members of the South Brunswick community has grown dire.

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"The economy has affected everyone, but hopefully people remember that it's also having a terrible impact on people right here in South Brunswick," Wolf said.

With the holiday season just around the corner, Social Services is seeking volunteers to participate in the Christmas Adopt-A-Family program and for Thanksgiving food items.

"Anyone who wants to participate in the Adopt-A-Family program or donate to the Human Intervention Trust Fund, we can use all the help we can get," Wolf said.

This fall's Boy Scouts Scouting for Food program will take on a new format, as opposed to previous years when scouts would leave bags at residences throughout town to be filled with food donations, before returning to pick them up. This year, the scouts will head to Stop&Shop and the Shop Rite in North Brunswick to collect food on Nov. 5 and 6, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Wolf is asking for residents to please consider picking up an extra item or two once Thanksgiving food starts to appear at local markets.

"We're hoping to see the schools get more involved during the holidays this year," she said. "They've always been a huge source for us, but we've gotten less and less recently because there have been so many tragedies in the world. It's not that they're forgetting us, but parents just can't keep giving and giving."

The Food Pantry is completely out of the following items:

  • coffee
  • Parmalot/boxed milk
  • macaroni and cheese
  • tea 
  • juice
  • canned beans
  • green vegetables
  • canned soup 
  • Chef Boyardee pastas
  • dried soups 
  • jelly
  • All personal products such as shampoo, toothpaste, lotions deodorants, etc.

Over the coming months, Wolf said the pantry is in need of the following Thanksgiving food items:

  • canned sweet potatoes 
  • muffin mix 
  • pie crusts 
  • chicken broth 
  • stuffing 
  • cranberry sauce 

"If people can grab a couple of those items when they see them and drop them off that would be a huge help," Wolf said.

To donate or volunteer for the South Brunswick Food Pantry, call 732-329-4000 ext. 7674.


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