Six-minute read
Toms River’s food distribution for those in need continues
Toms River began distributing free food to anyone experiencing food insecurity back in 2020, at the very beginning of the pandemic. The food distribution has continued at the Toms River Presbyterian Church, and marks its second anniversary.
Doug Hood, Asbury Park Press
- Fulfill, a New Jersey food bank, must replace 150,000 pounds of food due to federal aid cuts.
- The Trump administration cut over $1 billion in funding for food assistance programs.
- Demand for food assistance remains high following the COVID-19 pandemic.
NEPTUNE — Triada Stampas is facing a problem she could not have foreseen even a couple of months ago: the loss of 150,000 pounds of food the organization expected to receive from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“It was food that we were expecting to be delivered between now and the end of June,” said Stampas, CEO of Fulfill, formerly the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean counties. “… We’re scrambling to figure out a way to replace it. We are very lucky to have a lot of community support. The only option for replacement is to purchase. We are hoping our community comes through.”
She estimated Fulfill will need to buy food — at a cost of about $250,000 — to make up for the supplies the food bank expected to received from the USDA.
“We don’t have a food donor that can come in and replace that much food,” she said. “We were left unprepared for these cuts.”
Fulfill’s dilemma is the same one being faced by food banks and community organizations throughout the country as they struggle to adjust to cuts in federal food aid programs by Trump administration.
In early March, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it was cutting more than $1 billion in funding for the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement programs for 2025. The money was designed to pay farmers to provide food to schools and food banks, giving a boost to local producers while giving fresh options to children and communities.
Then, food banks were hit with another blow when they were informed that scheduled deliveries of food through the USDA’s Emergency Food Assistance Program were being halted or cut back. That’s the 150,000 pounds of missing food Fulfill must replace between now and June; Stampas said it’s “typically some of the most of the most high-quality nutritious food items we have access to,” including items like frozen chicken, turkey, cheese and milk.
“The food that families say they need the most are these nutrient-dense protein and dairy items,” Stampas said. “That is what makes it such a heavy loss.”
The cuts come as President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency target a long list of government programs and federal jobs for sweeping cuts in recent months. The USDA told USA TODAY that the LFPA cuts were a “return to long-term, fiscally responsible initiatives.”
Fulfill, located in Neptune, is a wholesaler to other food pantries and community programs. It distributes food to 289 partner institutions — including soup kitchens, shelters, day programs, day programs, group homes and food pantries — that work to make sure people in need have the meals they need to get through the day.
Fulfill accepts non-perishable food donations at its Neptune headquarters, 3300 Route 66, and at The B.E.A.T (Bringing Everyone All Together) Center at 1769 Hooper Ave., Toms River.
Stampas said demand for food assistance has remained high after it soared during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fulfill serves 110,000 residents of Monmouth and Ocean counties each month, up from about 50,000 before the pandemic, she said.
“During the pandemic, we may have thought, this is as bad as it’s going to get,” Stampas said. “Unfortunately, what we are seeing is, that food costs and the costs of living went up so quickly that it outpaced people’s wages.” Soaring home prices and rental costs, plus an increase in the cost of food and healthcare have put a squeeze on people’s finances.
Stampas said the number of people experiencing food insecurity in Monmouth and Ocean has grown about 12% to 13% in the past year.
Geralyn Fraggetta-Drury, executive director of the Open Door food pantry on Freehold’s Throckmorton Street, said she’s seen first-hand the increase in the people receiving groceries regularly from the pantry. Fraggetta-Drury said there are about 4,000 visits to the pantry each month, though those are not all unique visitors.
“Some people will come in daily every day we are open, some only get packed once a month,” she said. “Some may not have a kitchen or anywhere to store items, so they may come in more frequently.”
Fragetta-Drury said the USDA cuts experienced by Fulfill “all trickles down to us,” since Open Door is one of the pantries supplied by Fulfill.
“Any cuts that she is going to see, we are eventually going to feel it here,” she said, referring to Stampas. Pantries like Open Door usually spend their funds to supplement staples, like the eggs, chicken and boxed milk, that they receive from Fulfill, she said.
If Fulfill can’t supply those items, that means pantries like Open Door will have to pay for that food themselves, taking money away from other things the organization might purchase, or services it could provide, Fragetta-Drury said.
“It puts a strain on us if we are always tapping our reserves,” she said.
Fraggetta-Drury said many of Open Door’s clients are two-income families with their own homes and apartments who are still struggling to put enough food on the table.
“We’ve seen a huge switch on our lines, we have seen more just two-income working families, families coming to us,” she said. “They are both working, they have an income, they have a place to live (but) they can’t make it with their bills. They will come and get help with food because they have to keep their lights on, they have to pay their rent. We are seeing donors, people who used to donate to us in the past, on our line.”
Money initially set aside for food may be used to pay other bills, while parents will often skimp on meals to provide for children, she said. Advocates are also concerned about potential cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), more commonly known as food stamps, which provides benefits to low-income families and those with disabilities.
Fulfill is one of six regional food banks in New Jersey that are part of the larger Feeding America network of 200 nonprofits working to alleviate hunger nationwide.
About 1 million people lack regular access to enough food in New Jersey, Stampas said.
Stampas said she still remains optimistic that the community will step up and fill the void left by the federal aid cuts, and praised Gov. Phill Murphy, and Assembly Speaker Craig J. Coughlin, D-Middlesex, and state Senate President Nicholas D. Scutari, D-Union, for supporting the same $85 million grant to food banks in this year’s budget. The budget has not yet been adopted by the state Legislature.
“Our approach is, we will do whatever we can do to blunt the impact of these cuts as much as possible,” Stampas said. “So we are going to turn to our supporters. Ending hunger is not one organization or one person’s problem to solve, it really is a community effort. We don’t do it alone and cannot do it alone. The funding we receive from the state is so important, our foundation and partners are so important.”
Stampas said she does not believe the cuts already made by the Trump administration are “indicative or a signal” of what’s to come in the future.
“At the federal level, the USDA has new leadership, and it’s still early days,” she said.
To learn more about Fulfill or to make a donation: fulfillnj.org. To learn more about Open Door: https://www.faopendoor.org.
Jean Mikle covers Toms River, Seaside Heights and several other Ocean County towns. She is also passionate about Asbury Park’s musical history. Contact her: [email protected].
USA TODAY contributed to this story.
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