Harvesting Donations for Lunch Break

The season of giving is has not yet arrived, but the need for the bounty is looming.

With the national poverty line defined as an income of $23,000 for a family of four and the cost of living in New Jersey substantially higher than that in a dismal economy, people's need to rely on the services offered by Red Bank's Lunch Break have outpaced its resources.

The number of hot meals served at the facility on Drs. James Parker Boulevard has increased by more than 68 percent in the last few years, according to Gwen Love, its executive director of Lunch Break. And for pantry distributions to those in need have risen by 657 percent. Yes, 657 percent.

“Last year we served over 56,000 meals, and over 500 families depend on Lunch Break every month for their groceries," Love said in a released statement. "Add to that our home-bound program where deliver meals six days a week to the elderly, ill, weak and disabled, and the numbers combined are frightening.”

Now that summer's end is nearing and the number of donated fresh vegetables from gardens is dwindling, it's back to the non-perishables on the shelves and they're bare, she added.

Characteristically, the most challenging times to fill those pantry shelves are the fall months of September and October and winter's February and March. The shortages, Love said, are usually critical at those times.

With need consistently rising and outpacing supplies, Lunch Break is in a tough spot, forced to decrease the usual amount of groceries offered to families from the pantry for a month now. "When the food is gone, it’s gone," Love said. "It’s heart wrenching to plan and not be able to meet the need. Right now our resources are critically low.

“It’s an overwhelming feeling. If we don’t get food, people are going to go hungry. We’re almost to the season of giving, but we’re not quite there yet."

Love said that in November, donations usually start to pick up, but the need is there now. She encourages people to help through the season of the harvest and get theirs over to the facility. Monetary donations are also welcomed. For more information, check the organization's website at www.lunchbreak.org and read the rest of the release right here on Patch.