Feed The Need 2014 Fulfills Tall Order
Jean Sullivian, November 24, 2014

Caption: Culinary students prepair thanksgiving meals for families in need..

BRICK, NEW JERSEY- Students and staff at the Ocean County Vocational Technical School's Brick Center partnered this year with the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties to take on the unprecedented task of preparing 3,000 Thanksgiving meals to be distributed through local social service agencies.

Fundraising efforts by Brick Center students, faculty and staff to collect food items and cash donations fund this annual community service project which began about 16 years ago. Donations through the Monmouth Ocean Food Bank and OCVTS vendors as well as a grant awarded to the project from the Ocean County Foundation for Vocational Technical Education helps purchase additional supplies.

This week Culinary Arts students from the Brick Center, under the direction of their Culinary Arts instructors, prepared and roasted over 250 turkeys, as well as preparing traditional side dishes including: mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, gravy and of course holiday pies. Massive assembly lines of students packaged the meals and prepared them to be distributed today local social service such as the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS), Preferred Behavioral Health, the Toms River People's Pantry and Hunger Relief .

When this community service project began about 38 meals were distributed. Over the years the demand has grown and with it the determination of the students and staff to help as many people as possible.


What does it take to prepare 3,000 Thanksgiving meals?

BY THE NUMBERS
Over 3000 lbs. of turkeys 1500 lbs. of potatoes 1200 lbs. of sweet potatoes (picked by OCVTS students) 850 lbs. of stuffing 450 lbs. of green beans 90 gallons of gravy 1000 holiday pies.