Residents rally to refill food pantry
Jackson businesses, organizations join effort in wake of fire damage
BY DAVE BENJAMIN Staff Writer
Afood drive with a goal of replacing hundreds of items of food that were damaged in a fire is under way to benefit the Jackson Food Pantry.

The food pantry on Don Connor Boulevard suffered smoke damage during an Aug. 29 fire that caused severe damage to the code enforcement office that shared the same building. The operators of the food pantry were directed to discard all of the food that was on hand.

Township Councilman Jason Gudaitis said this week that the township's public works building on Don Connor Boulevard will be the new permanent location for the food pantry.

"They have cordoned off a section of the public works building, and the leaders of the Jackson Women of Today (which operates the food pantry) met with Mayor (Mark) Seda, Township Council President Ann Updegrave and myself to determine the next steps," he said.

Gudaitis said ShopRite, County Line Road, has donated new shelving that will be used to store the donated food.

"It would be too expensive to clean and sanitize the old shelving," he said. "So we ended up with the shelves being donated."

Gudaitis said hundreds of dollars worth of food has been donated since the Aug. 29 fire. Some monetary donations have been made and other donations are expected, he said.

He said ShopRite, Stop & Shop, the Jackson Little League and Jackson Pop Warner have been a tremendous help donating food and have said additional assistance will be forthcoming.

Gudaitis said that at Jackson Day last weekend a family stopped the mayor's wife, Cici Seda, and each of the three children, all under age 10, donated $1.

"Their mother said they wanted to donate money from their own allowances," the councilman said. "And, they did so anonymously. They said they didn't need any recognition. They just wanted to give."

Gudaitis said he has received phone calls from residents asking what they can do to help restock the food pantry's shelves.

"It's been great," he said. "Workers from the Department of Public Works have been going around to the different locations where there are drop-off sites and they have been picking up the food."

Bins for the collection of food for the Jackson Food Pantry have been placed at the ShopRite and Stop & Shop supermarkets, both on County Line Road.

Other bins have been placed at town hall, the Jackson library, the Department of Public Works, Holman Field at the Jackson Little League and the Jackson Little League complex on Route 528.

Word has reached the Holbrook Little League on Bartley Road and that organization will be collecting food at its complex, Gudaitis said.

"Right now the food pantry is moving along," Updegrave said. "They received a tremendous amount of donations at Jackson Day. I think the buckets we had there were almost filled to capacity and they're moving forward with the relocation at the public works building."

Updegrave was hopeful the food pantry would be up and running by the end of September.

Allison Erwin, a spokeswoman for the Jackson School District, said several student groups are organizing food drives.

"We are asking all parents of the Jackson School District to bring in goods to their school," said Erwin. "The students at both high schools, Jackson Memorial and Jackson Liberty, will take care of coordinating it, storing it and getting it to the food pantry when they are ready to receive the food."

Food collections have also begun at the Four Seasons at Metedeconk Lakes and Westlake adult communities.

Larry Hartman, vice president of the Westlake Men's Club, said a collection basket has been placed at the clubhouse.

"We will also have a special call [for food] before the Sept. 20 men's club meeting," said Hartman.

The Westlake Women's Club is also running a food collection.

"I'm so glad to see the outpouring from the public in helping to restock the depleted pantry," Councilman Scott Martin said. "I'm so proud of the residents of Jackson for supporting this cause."

Councilman Angelo Stallone said officials are doing everything they can to get the food pantry up and running in time for the September food distribution on the last Thursday of the month.