JERSEY SHORE – If you’ve ever wondered how food gets from grocery stores to local pantries, Fulfill just made that process a whole lot easier.
The Monmouth and Ocean County food bank has donated five brand-new refrigerated 2024 Ford Transit vans to area food pantries, giving them a major boost in their ability to pick up and distribute fresh food.
The vans were paid for through a Feeding America Retail Capacity Building Grant and are already making a difference. With refrigeration and more space, pantries can now make bigger and more frequent trips to grocery stores, rescuing food that might otherwise go to waste and getting it onto pantry shelves faster.
The new vans went to Bradley Food Pantry in Neptune City, Our Lady of Guadalupe in Lakewood, the Hope Center in Toms River, Starve Poverty in Barnegat and Seeds of Service in Brick.
Fulfill President and CEO Triada Stampas said the donation goes far beyond handing over keys.
“More than 130,000 of our neighbors rely on our pantry network for food assistance,” Stampas said. “This isn’t just a vehicle. It’s a lifeline that will help our partners serve their communities for years to come.”
Every month, Fulfill and its partner pantries provide enough food for about 1.3 million meals across the two counties. That need has more than doubled over the past five years as food prices and basic living costs continue to climb.
By pairing each pantry with nearby food retailers, the vans help move fresh produce, frozen foods, meat and baked goods directly from stores to families in need.
Jonathan Rowe, Fulfill’s vice president of operations, said the partnerships are a win for everyone involved.
“These vans allow pantries and retailers to work hand in hand,” Rowe said. “They help rescue more fresh food, reduce waste and serve more neighbors than ever.”
Fulfill says the approach is already paying off. Pantries that received vans earlier this year saw donated food from retail pickups jump by about 30,000 pounds in their first year. Those same pantries are now on track to increase donations by another 55,000 pounds, far outpacing the rest of the charitable food network.
For pantry leaders, the impact is immediate.
“The van truly transformed our operations,” said Geralyn Fraggetta-Drury, executive director of the Freehold Area Open Door Pantry, a previous recipient. “We no longer have to turn food away. If it’s donated, we can get it and get it to our neighbors.”
Fulfill says vehicle grants like these are part of a long-term effort to strengthen local pantries and build food security across the region, a mission the organization has focused on since helping communities recover after Superstorm Sandy.
Stampas said the work is far from over. “The need keeps growing,” she said. “We have to keep growing with it.”
For more information, visit fulfillnj.org.
