The number of people considered food insecure in Monmouth and Ocean counties increased by 25% between 2019 and 2022. Food pantries in both counties served 54,000 people per month in 2022 and 103,000 guests in 2024. Many people in both counties earn too much to qualify for welfare but still struggle due to high housing costs.
Debbie Kessler at the Reformation Food Pantry in West Long Branch recently saw a familiar face: A mother of a child with disabilities, Kessler was healthy enough that she hadn’t been to the food pantry in years. But then the pandemic hit and her apartment rent went up by $500. Now she was returning to the food pantry to feed her family.
“Food prices and inflation are certainly down a little bit, but they’re still up compared to what they were before,” Kessler said.
While masks are being shoved into drawers and unemployment rates are falling, the number of people visiting food banks and soup kitchens has increased every year since the pandemic began.
The number of people considered food insecure increased 25% from 97,540 in 2019 to 121,500 in 2022, according to data shared by Fulfill, a Neptune-based food bank that distributes food to local food banks and soup kitchens in Monmouth and Ocean counties.
Food insecurity is when people lack “access to an adequate and stable food supply,” said Triada Stampas, president and CEO of Fulfill. The causes of food insecurity can vary by region and individual.
During the pandemic, there was a temporary decrease in the number of people facing food insecurity as a result of pandemic relief measures. But then grants and funding dried up and the number of people facing food insecurity increased.
“It’s reminiscent of what we saw after the Great Recession of 2008,” Stampas said. “Even after the recession ended and employment levels returned to normal, food insecurity just continued to rise.”
She said a common thread between then and now is that while prices are rising, wages aren’t necessarily keeping up.
“Those who received extra assistance during the pandemic now have that extra assistance gone and are facing price increases,” she said.
Fulfill’s network of food pantries and soup kitchens in Monmouth and Ocean counties averaged about 54,000 visitors per month in 2022. Since then, visitation has nearly doubled to 103,000 in 2024.
“It’s seniors, it’s children, it’s working adults, it’s people with disabilities, it’s veterans,” Stampas said. “Hunger doesn’t have one face.”
Too much money, but not enough
Federal food stamp programs like SNAP and WIC only accept applicants who earn at or below 185% of the federal poverty line, creating a disparity between those who qualify for food stamps and those who can afford living expenses.
“In a high-cost-of-living state like ours, even if you make twice the federal poverty level, housing costs eat up a lot of your income and you don’t have enough money left for food and transportation. You add it all up and you don’t have enough money left for food,” Stampas said.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services’ 2024 Poverty Guidelines, for an individual, 185% of the federal poverty line is equivalent to $27,861; for a family of two, 185% is $37,814; for a family of three, 185% is $47,767; and for a family of four, 185% is $57,720.
According to Fulfill data, 53% of food-insecure Monmouth County residents don’t earn enough to be “food insecure,” but earn too much to qualify for food assistance programs. In Ocean County, the rate is 31%.
“The families we serve are prioritizing having a roof over their head, which is incredibly important. They need to have gas in the car, they need to have their cell phone turned off,” Stampas said. “So food is where the sacrifices start.”
Fulfill estimates that about 1 in 12 Monmouth County residents will be food insecure in 2022, and 1 in 9 Ocean County residents will be food insecure, the most recent figures available from Feeding America, Fulfill’s national partner.
Financial challenges are different
Different neighborhoods face different challenges: Long Branch, for example, has the lowest homeownership rate, with only 42.9% of residents owning their homes.
Unlike homeowners with a stable mortgage payment, renters are subject to anticipated rent increases.
According to Fulfill, 5,140 Long Branch residents are considered food insecure, which is 16 percent of the city’s population.
Kessler, who helps people fill out intake forms for the Reformation Food Pantry, said some people have said “rising rent prices” are the reason they’re going to the food bank.
Before the pandemic, about 300 families visited the Reformation Food Pantry each month. Now, the pantry sees about 700 to 800 families each month.
Other communities with low homeownership rates include Asbury Park, Ocean Township, Tinton Falls and Ocean Grove.
In Keansburg, where Fulfill estimates 13 percent of residents face food insecurity, many rely on public transportation to get to work and don’t own cars.
“Keansburg is a food desert,” said the Rev. Rosemary Broderick, who runs St. Mark’s Pantry and Soup Kitchen. “Even if people have money to buy food, they have no way to get it because everyone in Keansburg walks. The nearest grocery store is about a $20 Uber ride away.”
The soup kitchen, which operates 365 days a week, utilizes vegetables from the garden, donations and food from Fulfill.
On a hot Thursday afternoon, patrons slowly trickled into the church soup kitchen to receive hot meals, fresh produce and desserts.
Karen, an active woman dressed all in purple who doesn’t own a car, declined to give her last name but said she likes going to the soup kitchen because it’s close to her home.
She met so many wonderful people at the soup kitchen and said that despite being a self-described picky eater, the food was always “great.”
Before the pandemic, the church’s food pantry and soup kitchen saw about 70 people come through the facility every day. During the pandemic, that number rose to 120-150 people before dropping back to about 100 people daily.
Since the pandemic began, food pantries and soup kitchens have seen busloads of people arrive from as far away as Middlesex County.
More food delivered
As demand at pantries and soup kitchens increases, Fulfill is stepping up deliveries.
Ed Maher, director of the Grace and Peace Church Food Pantry in Toms River, Ocean County, said Fulfill used to deliver once a month, but that was when the church was feeding about 200 families each month.
Due to the pandemic and the resulting inflation, the pantry is providing food to roughly 2,300 families each month, with Fulfill making deliveries twice a week, Maher said.
Food pantries, which are officially only open two hours a week, are opening earlier to allow volunteers to get home on time.
Many food pantries and soup kitchens are run by volunteers, many of whom are retired.
Maher said the pantry is primarily looking for volunteers to help distribute donations and accept deliveries, but also to help deliver supplies to people who can’t make it to the pantry.
Food insecurity is not necessarily the same as poverty. If you are poor and live close to a grocery store and don’t own a car, your expenses will be significantly reduced. If getting to the store is physically or financially difficult, you may be considered food insecure even if you have a high income.
In South Toms River, Toms River, Berkeley and Manchester, about a quarter of residents have a disability.
“The pandemic relief measures that were in place were incredibly effective,” Stampas said. “These crisis assistance efforts helped halt a significant increase in food insecurity.”
But while food insecurity is rising, donations are falling.
“The need is still there,” Broderick said. “We think COVID is over. We think everything’s over. It’s not. It’s not just about inflation. The world is changing and we have to think about how we continue to be kind and helpful to everyone.”
A map of food pantries and soup kitchens can be found at Fulfillnj.org.
Local food pantry
Reformation Food Pantry
Address: 992 Broadway, West Long Branch, NJ 07764
Website: reformationwlb.org/faith-in-action
Opening hours: Tuesday 7pm to 8:30pm, Saturday 8:30am to 10am
St. Mark’s Pantry and Soup Kitchen
Address: 247 Carr Ave., Keansburg, NJ 07734
Soup Kitchen hours: Breakfast Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10am to noon. Lunch daily from 12pm to 1pm.
Pantry hours: Tuesday and Saturday, 9am to 11am
Grace and Peace Church Food Pantry
Address: 1563 Old Freehold Road, Toms River, NJ 08755
Website: graceandpeace.org/foodpantry
Opening hours: Wednesday 5:30pm-6:30pm, Saturday 11am-12pm
