Long Branch groups bring food to needy The Long Branch Public Schools and the Long Branch Rotary Club partnered during the holiday season to help the less fortunate in the community. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, the group distributed 328 baskets to families in need, and on Dec. 21 they were expected to distribute another 375 baskets to local families in need. Robert A. Celli, a retired district administratorwith the schools and an activemember of the Rotary Club, has been organizing the biannual food drive for several years. "We provided food for 1,300 people on Thanksgiving," said Celli in a press release fromthe Long Branch Public Schools. "Those baskets included turkeys, hams and all the fixings. This Christmas we will provide food to 1,500 people. That is an amazing 703 families this year thatwill have everything for a perfect holiday dinner," he said. Coordination is the key to the collection and delivery of the food baskets, according to Celli, who stated that Bea Coleman of the Long BranchMiddle School, is instrumental in the distribution process. "Bea contacts other agencies who make deliveries during the holidays, ensuring that a duplication of deliveries does not occur," Celli said. "She also organizes all the volunteers and sets up all the baskets and established the routes," he added.