Free Family Dinners begins tonight, March 19th, 5:30 to 6:30!
The Asbury Park Business Committee has created a nonprofit called the Asbury Park Dinner Table, (APDT) to combat the challenges of COVID-19 through feeding the community and helping to keep the ever so vital Asbury Park hospitality industry alive.
One person per family, as well as individuals, can pick up the free pre-packaged meals and take them home in order to follow the social distancing guide lines. Each family will get up to four pre-packaged meals. Additional information below.
PRESS RELEASE:
SUPPORTING OUR RESTAURANTS, FEEDING OUR FAMILIES – New local nonprofit launched to join restaurants and churches to fight food insecurity created by COVID-19 crisis situation.
ASBURY PARK – The spread of COVID-19 has threatened our local restaurant industry and the food security of our community. Asbury Park Dinner Table, a nonprofit corporation, launches today to both support our hyper-local food service community while feeding Asbury Park families.
With many local families already dealing with food insecurity now needing to provide extra meals to kids home from school and college closures, as well as those in various industries who have lost their jobs, the need for dinner meals is critical. The initiative is simple: Donate online to AP Dinner Table, who will pay local restaurants to make specially-packaged dinner meals and deliver them to locations for insecure families to “grab and go.” APDT is will begin serving daily dinner meals starting Wednesday, March 18th from 5:30 to 6:30.
Distribution points are at: Second Baptist Church at 124 Atkins Avenue, St. Stephen’s AME Zion Church at 1001 Springwood Avenue, and United Fellowship Baptist Church at 603 3rd Avenue. “Our hard working local restaurant owners and their employees do more than just make food. They are also major employers in town and the livelihood of many of our neighbors,” says Kathy Kelly, cochair of the Asbury Park Business Committee.
“Thirty dollars will fund restaurants to produce about three dinner meals for people in need,” said APDT co-founder Julie Andreola. “Locals helping locals feed locals – it’s what Asbury Park is all about.” “Our love of Asbury Park is marrow-deep,” said co-founder Giuseppe Grillo. “APDT was created to do something positive in the midst of this crisis – in this case, support our restaurants and feed dinner to people in need.”
Reverend Semaj Vanzant of Second Baptist Church said today, “It is vital that in the time of need, we band together to ‘be our brothers/sisters keeper.’ I am so glad church and community could join together to make sure families are fed in this time of crisis.”
This initiative helps to support the Asbury Park community as well as our local restaurants. To donate or for more information on Asbury Park Dinner Table, go to facebook.com/APDinnerTable/ or go to the organization’s PayPal donation page: paypal.me/apdinnertable.