A group of Brick Township businesses have put together a Thanksgiving food drive to support the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean counties through the “Community of Hope” project.
Organized by Wingman Planning and Tri County Agency of Brick, Community Hope of Ocean County brings together local business to focus on supporting various needs within the county, starting with the food drive.
Several local businesses are participating in the campaign and will also serve as drop-off points for donations of food: Briarmill Pharmacy, Brick Chamber of Commerce, ERA American Towne Realty, Fast Signs of Brick, Flowers by Addalia, Howard Johnson Hotel Toms River, Investors Bank (Brick Branch), Jersey Coast Appliance, Joe’s Service Center, Mulberry Street, and Tuscan House. Barlo & Associates, Architects is also participating; Paul Barlo is a Trustee of the FoodBank of Monmouth & Ocean Counties.
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In addition to the food collection aspect of the drive, Wingman Planning and a local philanthropist will each donate $25 for every website that Wingman Planning creates for clients during the length of the drive. The FoodBank of Monmouth & Ocean Counties can generate 150 meals from each $50 donation. Wingman Planning launches an average of eight new websites each month, and $700 has been raised from this pledge since its inception in late September.
The FoodBank of Monmouth & Ocean Counties is celebrating 30 years in operation, this year, and in the past year alone has distributed over 10 million pounds of food. One in ten residents of the counties of Monmouth and Ocean has received food from the FoodBank.
“The high cost of living in our state makes it difficult for low-income people to make ends meet, and poverty rates have increased significantly,” said the FoodBank’s Executive Director, Carlos Rodriguez. “The FoodBank counts on donations to help fill the growing need by our area residents and families.”
Wingman Planning has also set up a website where the community can view items needed, get directions to collection locations, and learn more about the drive. The website is www.communityhopeofoceancounty.org.
Members of the community who would like to help can drop off donations at any of these participating local businesses from now through Nov 23 at:
- Barlo & Associates, 92 Mantoloking Rd, Brick, NJ 08723, www.barloarchitecture.com
- Briarmill Pharmacy, 1820 Lanes Mill Rd, Brick, NJ 08724
- Brick Chamber of Commerce, 270 Chambers Bridge Rd #6, Brick, NJ 08723, www.brickchamber.com
- ERA American Towne Realty, 1848 Hooper Ave., Toms River, NJ 08753, www.eratomsriver.com
- FastSigns of Brick, 1743 New Jersey 88, Brick, NJ 08724, www.fastsigns.com/484-brick-nj
- Flowers by Addalia, 1565 Rte 37 W, Toms River, NJ 08755, www.flowersbyaddalia.com/
- Howard Johnson Hotel Toms River, 955 Hooper Ave, Toms River, NJ 08753, www.tomsriverhojos.com/
- Investors Bank (Brick branch), 639 Brick Boulevard Brick, NJ 08723, www.myinvestorsbank.com/home
- Jersey Coast Appliance, 18 Route 37 East, Toms River NJ 08753, http://www.jerseycoastappliance.com/
- Joe’s Service Center, 584 Mantoloking Rd, Brick, NJ 08723, www.joesservicecenternj.com
- Mulberry Street, 474 Brick Blvd, Brick, NJ 08723, http://www.mulberrystreet.net
- Tri County Agency of Brick, 1875 New Jersey 88, Brick, NJ 08724, www.tri-countyinsurance.com
- Tuscan House, 1250 Hooper Ave., Toms River 08753, http://www.tuscanhousenj.com/