{"id":1613,"date":"2016-04-12T03:48:53","date_gmt":"2016-04-12T07:48:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/?p=1613"},"modified":"2016-04-12T03:56:23","modified_gmt":"2016-04-12T07:56:23","slug":"food-pantry-founded-after-sandy-finds-home-in-bon-jovis-beat-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/2016\/04\/food-pantry-founded-after-sandy-finds-home-in-bon-jovis-beat-center\/","title":{"rendered":"Food Pantry Founded After Sandy Finds Home in Bon Jovi&#8217;s BEAT Center"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div class=\"ose-vimeo ose-uid-6f647a373caa04511076c5e45ab5d80d ose-embedpress-responsive\" style=\"width:600px; height:550px; max-height:550px; max-width:100%; display:inline-block;\" data-embed-type=\"Vimeo\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowFullScreen=\"true\" title=\"Peoples Pantry Relief Center Finds a Home at Bon Jovi&amp;apos;s BEAT Center\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/162491067?dnt=0&amp;app_id=122963&title=0&color=00ADEF&byline=0&portrait=0&autoplay=0&loop=0&autopause=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"550\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"encrypted-media;accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;gyroscope;picture-in-picture fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/p>\n<p>It began as a volunteer effort by Toms River schoolteachers to collect and distribute food to those in need just after Superstorm Sandy, but nearly four years later, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thepeoplespantry.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Peoples Pantry Relief Center<\/a> has become a permanent fixture in the community.<\/p>\n<p>After being shuffled around from location to location, the Pantry has a permanent home at the <a href=\"http:\/\/thebeatcenter.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">BEAT Center<\/a>, which will also house JBJ&#8217;s Soul Kitchen, the community restaurant founded by rock artist Jon Bon Jovi. The center is located in a shopping center on Hooper Avenue near the border of Toms River and Brick.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1614\" style=\"width: 628px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC_0041.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1614\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-0\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"Peoples Pantry Relief Center, Toms River, N.J. (Photo: Daniel Nee)\" title=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1614\" class=\"size-large wp-image-1614\" src=\"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC_0041-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"Peoples Pantry Relief Center, Toms River, N.J. (Photo: Daniel Nee)\" width=\"618\" height=\"411\" srcset=\"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC_0041-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC_0041-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC_0041-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC_0041-310x205.jpg 310w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 618px) 100vw, 618px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1614\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Peoples Pantry Relief Center, Toms River, N.J. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;Out of the blue, I got an e-mail from the Jon Bon Jovi foundation asking for a meeting, because they knew they wanted to bring in the Soul Kitchen,&#8221; said Pat Donohue, the executive director of People&#8217;s Pantry.<\/p>\n<p>For Peoples Pantry organizers, being welcomed was new territory. The organization was forced to move multiple times after store owners in other shopping centers complained that they did not want a food pantry next door, Donohue said. For years, the group has been emphasizing the characteristics of the people they serve \u2013 primarily working class Shore residents whose incomes can&#8217;t sustain them in the wake of Sandy, skyrocketing rents and tax rates, plus a downturn in the economy that is still being felt.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Our neighbors here are much more generous,&#8221; said Donohue. &#8220;It&#8217;s a different mentality.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1615\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC_0039.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1615\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-1\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"Peoples Pantry Relief Center, Toms River, N.J. (Photo: Daniel Nee)\" title=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1615\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1615\" src=\"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC_0039-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"Peoples Pantry Relief Center, Toms River, N.J. (Photo: Daniel Nee)\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC_0039-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC_0039-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC_0039-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC_0039-310x205.jpg 310w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1615\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Peoples Pantry Relief Center, Toms River, N.J. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The pantry is the antithesis of the drab &#8220;soup kitchen&#8221; atmosphere some would assume. The pantry is one of the first of its kind in that it serves clients &#8220;supermarket style,&#8221; said Donohue. The pantry is brightly-colored, clean and cheery. Colorful paintings adorn the walls and the shelves, refrigerators and freezers are brand new, donated by Wakefern Corporation, the parent company of Shop Rite.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Wakefern basically outfitted the entire space for us,&#8221; said Donohue. &#8220;From the shelving to the refrigeration, everything, all of our equipment was donated through them. Very little needed to be purchased, they were incredibly helpful.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Those who come in are greeted with a personal shopper and guided around the premises, encouraged to take the food items they enjoy most for their families.<\/p>\n<p>Having a permanent location \u2013 guaranteed for at least the next 10 years \u2013 allows the pantry staff to take a breath, and plan the next phase of their mission, which is increasing outreach and changing perspectives on what they do.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We want to put more effort into awareness, and raise money,&#8221; said Donohue. &#8220;We have been so short-staffed and so busy, that we haven&#8217;t really been able to get out in the community to raise funds. That&#8217;s our primary focus right now.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1616\" style=\"width: 628px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC_0040.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1616\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-2\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"Peoples Pantry Relief Center, Toms River, N.J. (Photo: Daniel Nee)\" title=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1616\" class=\"size-large wp-image-1616\" src=\"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC_0040-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"Peoples Pantry Relief Center, Toms River, N.J. (Photo: Daniel Nee)\" width=\"618\" height=\"411\" srcset=\"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC_0040-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC_0040-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC_0040-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC_0040-310x205.jpg 310w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 618px) 100vw, 618px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1616\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Peoples Pantry Relief Center, Toms River, N.J. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Mary Masi, the organization&#8217;s\u00a0finance director, said while the pantry has found a physical home in the BEAT Center, they must continue to raise all of their own funds to keep operating.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;No one is cutting checks and paying our bills, and that&#8217;s a common misconception out there,&#8221; Masi said.<\/p>\n<p>The pantry is focusing on\u00a0developing partnerships with the local business community, chambers of commerce and others that can contribute to the cause. Peoples Pantry will revive a program this summer where vacationers are asked to donate unused, non-perishable food items at the end of their stay to boxes at local real estate offices. Recently, the pantry has been able to partner with a healthy, high-end pasta maker based in Toms River for a weekly delivery, as well as Goya, a multinational company that is stocking an entire section of the pantry on a regular basis.<\/p>\n<p>Most importantly, the new location for the pantry provides stability, and to continue to be able to help those in need from the local community.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;These are solid, middle class people,&#8221; Donohue said of her clients. &#8220;Our cost of the living has pushed some many people to the point where they&#8217;re finding themselves looking for relief here. They don&#8217;t qualify for food stamps or government programs, but the need what we do. For a lot of people, it&#8217;s a solid bridge.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The BEAT Center is located at 1769 Hooper Avenue, Toms River.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fcbkbttn_buttons_block\" id=\"fcbkbttn_left\"><div class=\"fb-share-button fcbkbttn_large_button \" data-href=\"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/2016\/04\/food-pantry-founded-after-sandy-finds-home-in-bon-jovis-beat-center\/\" data-type=\"button_count\" data-size=\"large\"><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It began as a volunteer effort by choolteachers to collect and distribute food to those in need just after Superstorm Sandy, but nearly four years later, the Peoples Pantry Relief Center has become a permanent fixture in the community&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1614,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[18,14,11],"tags":[453,454,29,452,20,32,62],"class_list":["post-1613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-local-life","category-superstorm-sandy","tag-beat-center","tag-jon-bon-jovi","tag-lavallette-nj-news","tag-peoples-pantry-relief-center","tag-seaside-heights-nj-news","tag-seaside-park-nj-news","tag-toms-river"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DSC_0041.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgsn9q-q1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}