A Need We Feed Receives Grant from Toms River Family Health & Support Coalition to Assist COVID-19 Meal Distributions
Through a grant from the Toms River Family Health and Support Coalition, A Need We Feed provided 715 additional meals to children, families, veterans, homebound seniors and the homeless in our community in 2020.
A Need We Feed launched on October 29, 2012, when Superstorm Sandy devastated many homes and businesses along the New Jersey shoreline. While construction may have rebuilt these structures, A Need We Feed was born and has worked to restore the comfort, hope, and confidence in people giving back to their community. Our Board President Cliff Baker, who served many years in the military, saw this as an opportunity to “pay it forward” and grow. That’s exactly what he did.
Since 2012, A Need We Feed had grown from a basic foundational organization to a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization that prepares, packages, and delivers more than 11,000 hot meals a year to children, families, seniors, veterans, and the homeless who are in need, while partnering with many organizations within the community.
Since the onset of COVID-19 in our Toms River community, the demand for meals and assistance has quadrupled. A Need We Feed sprang into action to feed members of our community and support our restaurant partners who continue to believe in our mission. Our meal requests jumped from 200 to 800 meals per week.
We’ve had several initiatives throughout our history and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. From feeding first responders to providing holiday meals for children, families, seniors and veterans, A Need We Feed has been working to fill gaps and lessen the worry for many Toms River residents about where they will receive their next meal.
Since the onset of COVID-19 in our community, the demand for meals and assistance has quadrupled. A Need We Feed sprang into action to feed members of our community and support our restaurant partners who continue to believe in our mission. Our meal requests jumped from 200 to 800 meals per week. Using safe social distancing methods, we were able to create a solution for our foodservice family and those in need.
In the summer of 2020, A Need We Feed received a grant from the Toms River Family Health and Support Coalition which helped us meet the need for so many. The figures below represent the number of meals we provided with support from the coalition:
- Children and families – 280 meals
- Veterans – 240 meals
- Homebound seniors – 150 meals
- Homeless – 45 meals
We are so grateful to have received this grant which we feel helped those suffering from food insecurity have one less thing to worry about during this trying and uncertain time. A Need We Feed will continue to serve our community with the help of businesses, volunteers, donations, and organizations like the Toms River Family Health & Support Coalition.