Brick-Led Group Collected, Donated 4,335 Meals to Local FoodBank

Community of Hope Ocean County

A group led by several Brick Township business owners collected enough food to make 4,335 meals in a drive to support the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties.

Community Hope of Ocean County completed its first fundraiser in a big way, organizers say, with the meals having been distributed in time for the recent Thanksgiving holiday.

“We were simply overwhelmed by the level of support from the community,” said Jacki Frank, one of Community Hope’s co-founders and the owner of Tri-County Agency of Brick. “The FoodBank of Ocean and Monmouth Counties provided a great deal of support, which helped to make the drive a success.”

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Local residents rallied and dropped off hundreds of pounds of food items at 13 local businesses which acted as collection points. Monetary contributions were made from several local area businesses. Additionally, Wingman Planning, a Brick website development firm, contributed $25 for each new project initiated during the length of the drive. A Brick businessman who wished to remain anonymous then matched the monetary contributions made by Wingman Planning, and yet another Brick business, Veranda Technologies, also donated $25 for each new client contract initiated during the drive.

“We were delighted by the excitement that the drive created with our customers and employees and we were happy to be able to contribute to the drive,” said Tom Mirabella, owner of Wingman Planning. “We want to thank our customers for their support of this great cause. We also thank the local businesses who accepted donations, and the local media outlets for giving the drive such great coverage. The exposure that we received really helped in getting the word out to the local community.”

Community Hope’s organizers said they planned on keeping up the momentum in the new year by organizing new drives to benefit other local charitable organizations.

• 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