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HO HO HO !
This month's Christmas distribution was enhanced by the gift of over 70 festive cookie plates, courtesy of Girl Scout Troops
222, 210, 248, 20, 243, 478 and 375. Dynamo Troop 222 leader, Rita Yhlen, organized the baking and collection of the cookies,
and her daughters Nicole and Michelle added the artistic touch with their festive wrapping of the cookies. Thanks girls, we
love you.
<------ see how pretty a plain brown bag
can look when topped with delicious
gaily wrapped cookies!
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SANTA'S HELPERS !
December's distribution day was the largest of the year with seventy-seven recipients attending. Our clients got to choose
between canned hams or turkeys and the elves were busy helping everybody along. Elves include: Storesmaster Dick Sansone and
Bruce McGahey (rear), then left to right middle row, Howard and Rose Furbeck, Emil Ciangetti, Sally McGahey, & Club &
Organizationn liason, Ralph Lanuto. Front row: Registrars Steffie Serina, Mary Fleming and Peggy Gille. Not seen are Chairman
Guy (behind camera) and Ziggie Zwierchowski, Food Bank Embassador to the Township committee.
Gobble Gobble!
Take 6 Rotarians, 20 Interact Students, 11 Food Bank volunteers, 67 clients, and Brownie Troop 579's donation of a full van
of food and what do you get? Organized chaos of the nicest sort as happy people collected their full turkey dinners with pies,
as well as the normal food bank staples. A welcome addition this year were salads, all donated by our good friends at ShopRite.
The Rotary has made this an annual gift and we could't do it without them! The residents of our Lacey community have been
so helpful with their donations, making our monthly distributions nourishing and meaningful and our holidays festive and bountiful.
We thank Doug Ruhlin, the Rotarian who chaired this event, Jennifer McMahon, community liason officer for
ShopRite, Noreen McGillick, Troop 579's leader, and the Interact Club (shown below) of Lacey High School with advisor Donna
Anderson for all their work in making this a success.
Our holiday food supply was also enhanced by two groups who combined pleasure with business (or is that vice versa?)
The Lacey Woman's Club collected food from all of those attending the November meeting, and the Inter-Generational Club, Middle
School charged fellow students a can of food as admission to a dance.Thanks to all for thinking of us.
Boy Scout Food Drive
The Ocean County Boy Scout Council
held their annual food drive in October. The scouts collected many tons of food by distributing empty bags to homeowners and
returning later to collect the bounty. We at the Lacey Food Bank were given a truck load of pantry food stuffs for our shelves.
This will help carry us through the winter. To all the scouts who participated a very hearty thank you for your good deed!
Caring by Sharing...
What a treat for the clients in September! Here we see Irmgard from the German Butcher Shop giving chairman Guy with 60 butcher
shop gift certificates for the clients.... yet another example of those in the community who care by sharing. For anyone who
hasn't "found" the German Butcher, (on Lacey Road just a block or so west of Route 9) do yourself a favor and stop
in. Owned and operated by the generous Barsch family, it has become a venerable institution in the community.
Chairman Guy and Storesmaster Dick recently attended a breakfast given by the Monmouth & Ocean Food Bank to honor ShopRite's
magnificent contribution to the area food banks. (If you had a magnifying glass you could spot them in the 4th row, Guy above
the second "E", Dick above the "I") Thanks to Wakefern ShopRite's efforts, Lacey Food Bank receives credits
good toward free pantry foods each month which are distributed to us by the Monmouth Ocean Food Bank.
Volunteers Steven Ciangetti, Shirley Schmidt, and chairperson Pat Hicks(from Century 21,Pacesetter Realty) display their wares
at the first annual Farmer's Market held for clients of the Lacey Food Bank recently. Donations of produce by area gardeners,
the food bank, as well as hundreds of ears of corn given by DeWolf Farms made the day possible. Area gardeners are urged to
plan ahead next year and grow "another row" for the needy.
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Letter Carriers Bring Gifts!
May 12th was the ninth annual National Letter Carriers Food Drive Day, the largest food gathering event in the world. Contributors
left food in plastic bags by their mail box for collection by local carriers.The many tons of food collected were then donated
to local food pantries and kitchens. Locally, Lacey Food Bank benefited from the efforts of the US Post Office in Lakehurst.
Aided by driver Dennis Reilly and a truck from the DPW, courtesy of Casey Parker, we arrived mid day to receive enough food
to fill the truck - very exciting for the stores master and certain to please the clients who will benefit from this gift
from the postal service and the residents of Manchester.
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AmerGen Holds Food Drive
Coordinator Nancy Carlson held what she billed to be the "first" annual food drive at the AmerGen Nuclear Energy
plant for the benefit of the food bank. The week long effort culminated in a mound of groceries as well as gifts of cash and
food certificates, all gifts from the employees. Chairman Guy thanked Ms.Carlson and her co-workers, citing his appreciation
for the many caring members of the community who participate in supporting the needy.
Thanks to the Mill Pond Elementary School,the food bank looks very festive this month! The artistic and colorful posters are
the work of the Intergenerational club. The students also made Passover and Easter cards for the clients.
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