As the cost of food, rent and utilities continues to increase, struggling Gloucester City and Brooklawn residents are finding it harder to make ends meet and put nutritious meals on the table.
“We are averaging well over 100 families every week,” said Bimzey Weatherly, a volunteer with the Gloucester City Helping Hands Food Pantry for the past 10 years. “This is my passion to help the people of the city.”
“No one should ever go hungry. The need has definitely gone up,” said volunteer Linda Baile, who along with Weatherly, Mary Ann McCann, Connie Hill, Janice Pregartner, Betty Walton and John and Dawn Dennery, were preparing boxes and bags of food for families on Friday morning, Sept. 18, at the Church of the Ascension rectory at 110 Sussex St. in Gloucester City.
“The Helping Hands food pantry has been operating in Gloucester City for over 45 years. We are a small, nonprofit organization composed of strictly volunteers wishing to serve our fellow neighbors in need of assistance,” wrote McCann in a letter to merchants asking for donations.
“Our main means of support has come from our local churches, organizations such as The Lions Club, Brooklawn American Legion Post 72, the Gloucester City-Brooklawn Rotary Club and many local businesses.
“Prior to the COVID 19 outbreak, residents came to the pantry once a month. It was intended to be a supplement to the food stamps program because many people would run out of food by the end of the month,” McCann wrote.
“Ever since the COVID outbreak and the following financial crises in our communities, we have residents coming to the pantry every week seeking help. Each week we serve anywhere from 85-125 residents in need of assistance with bags of non-perishable groceries at an estimated $54 in value per family.
“It is difficult to keep up with these demands and that is why we come to our merchants to ask for assistance in filling these demands by donating, especially for Thanksgiving, Christmas and throughout the year,” McCann wrote. “We have one monetary fund raiser in November when we have a social and we auction off prize baskets.”
The annual Social and Basket raffle will be on Saturday, Nov. 7, from 6 to 10 p.m. at Elizabeth’s Ballroom at 419 Highland Blvd. in Gloucester City.
The Food Pantry is open to Brooklawn and Gloucester City residents every Friday from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Families coming for the first time need to bring proof of residency, such as a driver’s license or a piece of mail with a current address.
People or merchants who would like to donate nutritious food can do so between 9 and 11 a.m. on Fridays. Financial donations can be made out to the Gloucester City Helping Hands Food Pantry, c/o Mary Ann McCann, 612 Market St., Gloucester City, NJ, 08030.
Getting ready to distribute nutritious food to more than 100 local families are Helping Hands Food Pantry volunteers, including Bimzey Weatherley, Mary Ann McCann, Linda Baile, Connie Hill, Janice Pregartner and John and Dawn Dennery. Volunteer Betty Walton gets ready to give out a bag full of food to a struggling family on Friday morning, Sept. 18, at the Church of Ascension in Gloucester City.
