It takes a village. And especially when it comes to caring for Cresskill families in tough times.
After almost a year hiatus, the Cresskill food bank is now open Tuesdays and Saturdays for residents in need.
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staff photo by sophia gonzalez
Opened two weeks ago, the Cresskill food bank houses food and dry goods for residents in need.
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| How you can help |
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• Monetary and food donations may be delivered to the Cresskill Borough Hall, 67 Union Ave.
• Those who wish to volunteer may also contact Social Services Director Carolyn Schultz at the Borough Hall.
• Cresskill residents in need of food or dry goods may stop at the food bank located on the corner of Washington and Union Street. The food bank, which is housed in a trailer, is open during the following hours: Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to noon then 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon.
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The newly refurbished food bank, thanks to a major overhaul by the Local Assistance Board, can be found wedged between the intersection of Washington Street and Union Street.
Social Services Director Carolyn Schultz and volunteers, who comprise the Local Assistance Board, run the food bank with the help of a $3,000 budget and donations.
Every Tuesday, volunteers Ben Nelson and Mario Gangi unload boxes of goods from food rescue organization "Table to Table" trucks. St. Therese’s Church in Cresskill and local Boy and Girl Scouts round up canned goods and supplies.
"To make people comfortable," said Schultz, the Local Assistance Board fixed the three-room trailer to appear more like a grocery store than a pantry.
Needy residents may grab a bag at the entrance and pull items such as fruit-flavored Pedialyte and boxes of Barilla pasta from the neatly stocked shelves.
A smaller room to the right, with brand new refrigerators and freezers, stores meats and produce. Nelson, Schultz and Councilman John Brennan could be seen emptying bags of chicken nuggets and fresh meat into one of the freezers.
"Between the volunteers who brought rugs and shelves, it cost next to nothing," said Schultz. "The only [money] that we took out of the budget was [to buy] the freezers."
Before, Councilwoman Kathy Savas said that the food bank was "sporadic and disorganized."
Well, not anymore.
The food bank no longer depends on a haphazard volunteer schedule, which left residents unsure of when they could stop by the pantry. A schedule posted on one of the trailer windows now reads: Tuesday from 10 a.m. to noon; 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.; and Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon.
Local officials said that it might surprise residents that there is a need in an affluent community. But for more than 12 Cresskill families, need is a reality.
"You’ll get the word that someone knows someone that has three or four kids and the husband left," continued Savas. "There’s that interim where there’s no income coming in, so we as a town take care of them."
Mayor Benedict Romeo said in an announcement to residents, "There’s probably a lot more of us who may need help from time to time than we would care to admit."
According to the social services director, the next phase for the food pantry would be to beautify the area surrounding the trailer by clearing the underbrush and demolishing the "eyesore of a garage."
With the addition of volunteers, the food pantry might also prolong its hours.
But for now, Schultz said that the food pantry will start slowly and "as it catches on we’ll open it to more people." Standing outside the trailer beside Nelson, she then said, "You got to crawl before you can walk."
Nelson added, "And you got to walk before you can run."
E-mail: gonzalezso@northjersey.com or call 201-894-6711
