Jamesburg to address strain on food pantry
Mayor spearheads formation of committee to study growing need
BY SETH MANDEL
Staff Writer

JAMESBURG — With supplies at a local food pantry being exhausted at an alarming rate, Mayor Anthony LaMantia is assembling a committee to evaluate the growing hunger problem in town.

LaMantia said he decided such a committee was necessary after meeting with Susan Schneider-Baker, coordinator for the Presbyterian Church Deacons Food Cupboard.

“Last month we went there on a Friday to help her get things set up and go over what she said about the amount of people that use the food bank within the municipality,” LaMantia said. “We felt that it was a concern and we should look into it and try to help with the situation.”

Schneider-Baker said the pantry serves between 79 and 83 families per month, or about 200 to 225 people.

In January 2003, she said, the pantry served between 25 and 35 families, but by last spring that number had doubled, and it is now nearly triple.

“What I’ve seen is, a lot of people who have been unemployed within the last year to two years have used up their reserves, and now they’re on my doorstep,” Schneider-Baker said.

Local senior citizens make up about one-quarter of those who use the pantry, which has been in existence for more than 25 years.

“We used to do it on an as-needed basis or at holiday time; now we do it on a monthly distribution,” Schneider-Baker said.

She said the increased use of the pantry quickly depletes its food supplies.

“I used to have three to six months’ supply of food, but now it goes month to month and I’m really having a hard time even meeting the demand each month,” Schneider-Baker said. “We barely have enough food.”

LaMantia said the committee will try to get donations and volunteers for the pantry, as well as medical and dental visits for those who cannot afford it.

“Also, we’re more in tune to talk to outside agencies, at the county and state level, to see if there’s anything out there to assist different problems some of the people are having,” he said. “So, that’s what we’re looking to do.”

Schneider-Baker said the county has put together a council to prevent child abuse, which also may work to include minors in the welfare system. She said there has been an age limit to be eligible for welfare.

“Well, we’ve got teenagers who are getting pregnant and being tossed out of the house who are 17, 18,” she said. “What do we have for them? What can we do for them?”

LaMantia said the committee would consist of himself, Councilman Otto Kostbar, local residents, a representative from the police department, and a representative from each of the borough’s seven churches.

“We’re going to be able to sit down, address the problems, and try to help [Schneider-Baker, and] at the same time address the problems and try to help these people be self-sufficient,” LaMantia said.

Schneider-Baker said that by having a committee comprising representatives from different organizations, officials will have a better idea of which issues are being addressed and which are not.

“I see what’s needed from my level, and others may have other perspectives, and by all of us getting together and sitting down in one place and talking about it and discussing it, then we could assess what the needs are and what we can do to solve some of the problems,” she said.

Transportation is also an issue, Schneider-Baker said. She sees far too many local employees walking or riding a bike to work.

“I think the committee can help in the fact that they’ll be able to coordinate, become more aware of the different organizations that could be of assistance to these people with dental care and medical and transportation, because unless you’re taking a bus to Atlantic City or New York, you can’t go very many places in Jamesburg,” she said.

LaMantia said he hopes to have the committee formalized at the next Borough Council meeting, on Feb. 23.

Although the committee was established quickly, LaMantia said it is by no means temporary.

“I’m looking to make it a permanent committee, whether it would be appointed every year, and would be working along with the churches to help the needy people in our area,” he said.