Seabrook Residents Make Sandwiches to Help Monmouth County's Hungry

In their continuing effort to help feed some of Monmouth County’s hungry, some residents of Seabrook, a retirement community in Tinton Falls, made more than 125 sandwiches for Bridges at the Shore.

This is the second year the program has been held at Seabrook, but residents are hoping it will continue as Bridges at the Shore takes the sandwiches and distributes them to the needy in Monmouth County. 

About 12 resident volunteers gathered in the kitchen of the Princeton Restaurant at Seabrook to make turkey and cheese sandwiches before placing them in paper bags, along with apples, chips, bottled water and a special form of encouragement. Residents included hand-written notes which were placed in each bag aimed at encouraging the recipient.

Seabrook resident Bev Hausker, who helped develop the program at Seabrook, said she is happy she is able to help people.

“I became involved when I realized that there are a lot of people who needed a supper and went without one," Hausker said. "This is a program that receives no help from the government and is simply people helping people. It is just to help someone get over a hump and give them the basic necessities.”

“Here at Seabrook we have time and most feel we want to help other people,” resident Bobbie Ostar said. “Cooperating with the Bridges at the Shore project enables us to make contributions toward helping others who need help in this area.”

Seabrook Executive Director Art Sparks said the project is a great example of the "wonderful volunteer spirit at Seabrook."

"The area that we live in has a strong heart for the needy, including the hungry, and I think that our residents are passionate about helping wherever and whenever they can," Sparks said. "This event helps a very worthwhile organization fulfill a need that assists those in the county who are struggling.”

“It is during the holidays that people usually tend to think about those in need a little bit more who are hungry, but our residents and staff pride themselves on helping the community throughout the year, and gain tremendous satisfaction from an effort like this thoughtful food assembly project,” said Seabrook Dining Services Director Chris Stewart.

The sandwich making project is only one of many volunteer efforts that residents take part in. Last year, resident volunteers worked thousands of hours spending time doing a tremendous amount of work for a variety of groups, including the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean counties, the Tinton Falls Library, Monmouth Medical Center, Jersey Shore Medical Center, Meals on Wheels, Monmouth Museum, Mahala F. Atchison School in Tinton Falls, ARC of Monmouth, Interfaith Neighbors, The Bradley Food Pantry, Visiting Nurse Association, Red Cross, United Way and the New Jersey Special Olympics.

The Bridges at the Shore program provides help to needy people living in Monmouth County. Once a month, a group of volunteers take a caravan of cars to local towns in Monmouth County to distribute clothing, blankets, bag suppers, toiletries and conversation to those in need. To learn more about Bridges at the Shore, visit their website at: http://www.bridgesattheshore.org/