Project EAT helps fill empty shelves of food pantries
County program matches donors with food distributors
BY LAYLI WHYTE Correspondent
Did everyone in Monmouth County eat today? Being able to answer yes to that question is the mission of Project EAT (Everyone Ate Today), a program through the Monmouth County Division of Social Services that partners groups that collect food for donation with local food pantries in need.

The program was started in 1994 through the Volunteers in Public Service unit of the Division of Social Services, and 14 years later, the need remains as great as ever, according to Mary Ellen Hemenway, the county's coordinator of volunteer services.

"Pantries are having a problem keeping food on their shelves," she said in an interview last week. "People are coming in who pantries don't usually see, like seniors, and more and more middle-income families. There are people whose homes are in foreclosure, or will be soon, and they have tough choices to make."

Although Project EAT does not have its own food pantry, it coordinates food collection efforts with local schools and other organizations, pairing them with any one of the 45 local food pantries in the county.

According to Hemenway, some of the local schools designated as Project EAT schools include the Keyport, Shrewsbury and Long Branch public schools, as well as Brookdale Community College in Middletown.

Project EAT groups collect food for their assigned pantries a few times a year, though Hemenway said that with the current economic climate, groups and families that used to donate to pantries are becoming those who need to use the services provided by these resources.

"People are worried right now," she said. "They are becoming more conservative with their donations. I'm sure that a lot of the middle class families that we're seeing now are the ones that used to donate. We usually see an increase in donations around the holidays, and I'm sure this year we will, and as usual, we'll also see the pantries get empty again in January. We want to encourage schools and other organizations to get involved."

In addition to schools, Project EAT programs can be started at workplaces, places of worship and any other organization whose members would like to help stop the devastating effects of hunger.

According to a Project EAT brochure, "Poor nutrition is especially hard on children, who are more likely to experience headaches, fatigue, excessive colds and other illnesses. They have more frequent absences from school and are at risk of dropping out."

To help the food

pantries that are suffering from low donation rates, earlier this month Gov. Jon S. Corzine announced the early distribution of nearly $1 million to New Jersey's six emergency food distribution operations, including $82,146 for the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, Neptune.

The funding is part of the Governor's Hunger Initiative, according to a press release from the Governor's Office, and was originally scheduled for distribution later this month. The governor moved up the distribution date following reports of shortages of supplies at food banks and news that some food banks were nearly depleted and were closing due to food shortages, the press release stated.

"New Jersey food banks are reporting as much as a 30 percent increase in families seeking food assistance," according to the press release, "while food supplies are down by 19 percent from the same time last year."

Monmouth County Volunteers in Public Service offers help to get a Project EAT program started by presenting an introduction to Project EAT, individual consultation to help a group get started, and a video produced by students, faculty and parents at the Southard School in Howell showing how Project EAT works in their school.

"Even if you have a small group," said Hemenway, "you can make a difference. At this point in time, gas prices are too high, food costs are too high, and there are more and more people in need. Every little bit can help. For the people in need, we give referrals to food pantries. For people who want to collect food, we pair them with a pantry. I had a client the other day call me up saying that she had been to two local pantries to get food for her family, and both had empty shelves. We need all the help we can get."

For information on starting a Project EAT group, call 732-845-2071 or write Project EAT, Volunteers in Public Service, Monmouth County Division of Social Services, P.O. Box 3000, Freehold, NJ 07728.