Lacey Township Food Bank

	Merry Christmas from all of us to all of you and may you have a grand new year in 2015

	Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Lacey Food Bank Kids Committee For centuries man has kept an appointment with Christmas. And so Friday, the volunteers who make up the Lacey Food Bank Kids Committee honored that promise of Christmas as Community Hall was transformed into a Santa's Workshop. Volunteers set out box after box, table after table of new toys and games and sports equipment. Our toy tables were filled to overflowing with dollies and trucks, scooters and craft kits and even a rocking horse!! With something to please Mom and kiddies alike, 318 children on our client list received new, warm and stylish clothing of their choosing, along with the "must have" Christmas items of pajamas, socks, scarves, hats and mittens. An extraordinary gifting that provided for an extra special Christmas morning breakfast was a welcome surprise for many of our parents. Even more exciting was finding bicycles under our tree!! Parents participated in a random drawing and there will be 8 very happy little boys and girls in Lacey on Christmas morning!! We could only wish to be able to thank each and every one of you who helped us make Christmas wishes come true for the children of the Lacey Food Bank. For the most part gifts come to us anonymously - collected in school drives, dropped off in bins located in stores and offices throughout Lacey, through employee collections and angel trees, drop offs at the Food Bank and in dollars and cents stuffed in our collection jars. For all of you, please know that we and the children are grateful for what you so freely give in the real spirit of Christmas ~ Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Lacey Food Bank Kids Committee

	Lacey High School's Student Government Association (SGA) has been a loyal supporter of the food bank for several years. (check out newsletter archives) Lacey Twp High School SGA Lacey Twp High School SGA During the school year, they collect , then deliver pantry items to us, This year food donations have been especially important for us to be able to meet the needs of a client base that has soared to an all time high of 280 families. The amount of food we receive from school groups, who are supported by the faculties & students is so considerable that we could not function without it.This week, members of the SGA, along with Co-Pesident Paul Toth, dropped by with a load of food they collected over the past month. This will go toward keeping up with our needs in January when shelves are bare and donations low. And if that isn't enogh, they also presented us with $700, the result of their diligent fund raising for us, making them esteemed sponsors  supporting almost 3 families next year.  And for this we thank you.

	Brownie Troop 41 Holiday visitors this past week were a group of Brownie Scouts, Troop 41, Toms River. Under the leadership of Kelly Torres.and given a tour of the food bank by volunteer Mary Lou DiEugenio, the girls brought food and non food items, which they sorted and shelved. Then on to the main event as they proceeded to make up gift bags of fresh fruit for the clients. Overseeing the operation was the food bank mascot, Snoopy Burnett who got so excited he did the Westie run down the hallway. Thanks for your gift girls, it was a very good deed indeed. . . .

	RETRO FITNESS FACE OFF An unexpected visit from the guys & gals at RETRO FITNESS - which has two locations in Lacey & Bayville - sure made our storekeepers day. Bearing two big checks totaling almost $4,000 along with a bounty of food they quietly stopped by and handed it over. To say that this was not only appreciated but very much needed would be an understatement. The latest count from our demographics team, Jim & Joan, had us up to 280 clients, an all time high. At this point we need more of this type of competition ! Thanks to all of you.

	House Party to Benefit LFB Kids Don't be afraid to try this at your next get together! Look at what was collected for the LFBKids at the Christmas Holiday get-together of the Blue Diamond Chapter of The Blue Thong Society, hosted in the home of our own Rosa Steitz. Instead of the usual hostess gift, each member was asked to bring a gift for the kids! We asked for new socks and underwear - practical Mom choice gifts - and we got them.....and so much more! Thank you Rosa for your hospitality and Thank You my fellow Blue Diamonds for your generosity!

	. . Hooray for Lacey school food drives and their commitment to keeping our shelves stocked. Shown here are the custodians from the Lacey Middle School with a truckload of food , collected due to the efforts of Pat Mariscalco, advisor to the Builders Club students. Along with all that food, the students also collected $45. in gift cards. At this time of year, our shelves are bare , so these food drives will help us safely into January . Thanks to all.

Cedar Creek Elementary School food drive Volunteeer Frank Lyons filled his truck Cedar Creek Elementary School held a hugely successful food drive for the Lacey Food Bank,. The food filled the back of a pick up truck! Thanks to coordinator Sue Groeman ,along with the students and staff who put this over the top.

	INTERGENERATIONAL CLUB'S ANNUAL VISIT Each November the little yellow school bus arrives at our door and out come seniors, students and teachers carrying vast quanitites of non food products- paper goods, personal care items like toothpaste, soap, detergents, etc. After all, man does not live by bread alone. : ) It is always a highlight for the volunteers to meet and greet the club members. Thanks to all of you. Inter-Generational Club's Annual Paper and non food products drive is a joint project of seniors and elementary school students.  Click to enlarge the pictures.

	Troup 156 and Pack 35 produced amazing donations, over 750 bags of food for the holidays. Troop 156 and Pack 35 Truck Full Troop 156 Troop 156 Pack 35 Volunteers ready to sort and help Troop 156 with a full van!

	The Lacey Food Bank Kids Committee is collecting NEW, UNUSED, UNWRAPPED TOYS AND CLOTHING for the 300+ children currently on the Food Bank Client List. In sizes from Infant to Adult XXLarge, our boys and girls are in need of warm winter clothing – pajamas, sweatshirts, sweatpants, sweaters, slippers, boots and always jackets! Childrens toys, for all ages, along with gift cards for our older kids would be greatly appreciated. Monetary donations are welcomed! Please make your check payable to the Lacey Food Bank and note on the check that it is for the Food Bank Kids! For more information join our FACEBOOK group LACEY FOOD BANK or call 609-242-2848 DROP OFF LOCATIONS: LACEY FOOD BANK 102 STATION DRIVE F.R. – MON-FRI – 10 AM – NOON ALL OTHER DROPS OFFS DURING REGULAR BUSINESS HOURS UNLESS NOTED: RYAN’S SERVICENTER – RT 9 LANOKA HARBOR WEICHERT REALTY – LACEY RD. FORKED RIVER. EASTPORT REALTY – RT 9 LANOKA HARBOR NEW CONCEPTS HAIR SALON – 44 MANCHESTER AVE ULTIMATE GYM – OLD SHORE ROAD FORKED RIVER FORKED RIVER FLORIST – RT 9 LANOKA HARBOR THOMPSON CHIROPRACTIC – RT 9 FORKED RIVER JAZZERCISE - Manchester Ave, Lanoka Harbor The Lacey Food Bank is a 501C3 non-profit that is operated by volunteers and depends entirely on food and monetary donations from the public and the business community

	The Lacey Food Bank is thankful and grateful to the members of the Forked River Rotary and the students of the Lacey High School Interact Club who provided the manpower to sack, pack and carry out the fixins' for a complete Thanksgiving Dinner for our Lacey Food Bank families. For more than 25 years Thanksgiving Dinners have been a gift to the needy families in Lacey by the Forked River Rotary. With turkeys and the trimmings provided by the Lacey Shoprite and Walmart this joint venture with the Lacey Food Bank also allows the students to experience first hand a 21st century version of the shared harvest feast. The Lacey Food Bank is indebted to the many community groups, businesses, individuals and schools who open their hearts and their pocketbooks to help us feed the Lacey families who are in need. In a time when more people than ever are reaching out for help, we are proud to be part of a community working together to put food on the tables of those who need it the most. Happy Thanksgiving to You All!!

	Mr Touchdown donation from Lacey High School cheerleaders and football players. left to right: Coach Lou Vircillo, Senior Quarterback Conor Davies, Senior Cheerleader Briana Zuccarelli, co-chair Pete, and Cheerleader Coach Erin Tiazkun. Meet Mr. Touchdown!! One of our favorite Lacey traditions is this annual LTHS Football/Cheerleader competition of a different sort. With the Lacey Food Bank as the beneficiary of the challenge, senior cheerleaders pair with senior football players to raise food money. The team with the highest amount raised is the winner. Hats off to this year's winning team .... Conor Davies Mr. Touchdown '14 and Briana Zuccarelli!!! Pictured is Couch Lou Vircillo, senior Conor Davies, senior cheerleader, Briana Zuccarelli, LFB co-chair Pete, and cheerleader coach Erin Tiazkun. All together the teams collected and donated more than $1500!!!. Congrats and many thanks to all the players and cheerleaders who make this a day we all look forward to!!

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN AND WE NEED YOUR TURKEY   This year the Lacey food bank will be collecting  240 Thanksgiving dinners for needy families, so if you are going to Gramma's house why not donate your free dinner for  them?  When you reach the $400, either  turn in your receipt to the courtesy booth, or collect a turkey breast, canned ham or lasagna and visit us with your gift.  (We ask for the latter because of freezer space. ) The food  bank is on the corner of  102 Station Drive and Parker Ave.- in a  brick building with our name on the door. We are open Monday through Friday from 10am- 12pm

	Sign up. Sign In. Shop! And AmazonSmile will make a donation to the Lacey Food Bank Kids Programs and Projects! It costs nothing to join. No added fees to your purchase either. An easy way to help make the difference in the quality of life of our own Lacey Food Bank children. Thank You for your support!!

Highlights from our Annual LFB Yard Sale The Grand Total of our efforts was almost $1500!! Thanks to everyone for your support and helping the Lacey Food Bank! CEO PETE AIMS TO SELL OUT TODAY ! DO WE HAVE BARGAINS FOR YOU! DICK & REGINA- GARAGE SALE CZAR & CZARINA THE THREE GOOD WITCHES OF THE YARD SALE, - ARLENE, CAROL AND REGINA, TAKING A BREAK THE BOYS - BIG JOHN, PAUL AND PETE, READY TO GO . DONNA, ROSA & ELAINE WITH HALLOWEEN BARGAINS. BERT PITCHED HIS WARES ALL DAY ANDREA 'S BOOK STORE THE ART GALLERY

	. Lacey High's Staff Jean Day The staff at Lacey High School held a benefit for us this month. Jeans Day enables the staff to wear jeans to school if they bring in a package or can of food. Along with this bountiful pile of food, they also raised $323 in cash which will be used toward the client's special Xmas food certificate gifting. Shown here is the organizer , Bunny McCauley and Frank Lyons ,Lacey Food Bank volunteer.

	Unloading Walmart Donations! A VISITOR FROM OZ .. Meet Rohan Beeson,  the Burnett's  visitor from Australia who is visiting the states with his mom Hildy, a Forked River native.Catching Rohan on a "free" day, Guy gave him a tour of the food bank during  (coincidentally of course)the big weekly delivery of food stuffs from Walmart . .  Rohan whizzed through the load, while charming all present with his uniquely Aussie accent. Thanks Matey !  (Before they left us,  Rohan & his "MUM" Hildy, left a donation for the client's Xmas gift card fund)

	Psychic Night Friday night's chill combined with the fiery torches that light the river just outside the Captains Inn in Forked River provided the perfect backdrop for an evening of psychic entertainment presented by the Lacey Food Bank Kids Committee. Guests were entertained by a talented company of intuitives from Charmed in Company who read cards, palms and angels while shedding light on career changes, romance possibilities and trips to foreign lands! While they waited, our guests could visit the jewelry expo for something shiny and bright or test their own psychic ability at the Mystic Gem Corner! A Halloween treat table gladly accepted donations. A tasty sampling from the Captains Table satisfied everyone’s taste buds, while the gift auction table offered Halloween and Christmas themed baskets. The LFBKids Committee thanks everyone who came out and supported this event. We can't do any of what we do, without you!!! Special thanks to Rosa Steitz, Debbie Candeletti and Andrea Flaherty who handled the door, the raffles and the spirits!!! This couldn't have happened without them!! And Thank You to Debbie Kay and the staff at the Captains Inn for their help and excellent service. The night’s profit of $681.00 will help us reach our goal of providing Christmas gifts to each of the more than 300 Lacey children on our food bank client list. We know we'll see you next year! ~ Laura Caroccia, Chair Lacey Food Bank Kids

	Annual Volunteer Picnic Here’s barbecue chef John Arnao at the grill during the annual volunteer picnic at Gille Park,. The recreation department provided the dog and burgers, stores master Dick hauled over bottled water, condiments, paper goods and chips while the volunteers brought in a great assortment of potluck dishes including a dessert bounty, It was a beautiful sunny day as the guys and gals shared the comradery of their fellow good deed doers. Did you miss it? Put in on your next year calendar. Too good to skip.

	Annual Apple Festival Apples anyone? And the band played on ....... The kids just love the pumpkin patch ... Ed, Bert & Jim - Manning the fort. Aha, caught the pie eater in the act ! Ginger and Carol - Spreading the word. Here's superintendent of Schools, Sandra Brower, who dropped by to donate and say hello as Mickey & John Esposito take their turn at the table.  Setting up - Chairman Pete, Guy & Arlene .....

The recently formed Lacey Chapter of the Blue Thong Society, a social and philanthropic women's group, with several LFBKids Committee volunteers as members, selected the Lacey Food Bank as the first beneficiary of their monthly meeting contribution. Thank You Ladies! Looking forward to the many good things you will do for our community!

Huge thank-you to Adrienne Costa-DiPaolo, Lacey Recreation and all who came to support Food Bank Yoga at the 2nd Lake. Conditions could not have been more ideal for a perfect night! Next Food Bank Yoga is scheduled for 6pm, Sun. Oct. 5th at Lacey Recreation. All are invited to this beginner based community practice. Bring a non-perishable food donation and admission is FREE.

	Lacey Day 2014 Pete, Guy, Frank and John relaxing after setting up Ed, Lois, Arlene and Thomascine smiling for the camera JoAnn, her Grandaughter Analise and Ed ready to finish the Day Volunteers handed out lolipops and Snoopy cards to the chicldren Our Lacey Day 2014 was a huge success. A good indication was the total of 3400 hamburgers and hot dogs cooked and served by the Lacey Rotary. Jim Weyland, head of the rec dept. had 3600 on hand. There were other volunteers helping, but unfortunately, I didn't get everyone's picture. A great "Thanks" goes out to all who participated.

	Walmart Pick Up Crew Here is Ed Good picking up 100's of pounds of food from Walmart.....he and John Arnao take turns every week in those donations. Walmart Packing Crew Pictured left to right Guy, Arlene, Bert, Frank, John, and Trudy Some of our Tuesday Walmart packing crew... This marks the 4th week of heavy donations from Walmart averaging 400 to 500 pounds of food for our clients.

Home Depot Helps Keep Lacey Food Bank Cool!! It may seem to be a bit early to be thinking about frozen turkeys for Thanksgiving but that's exactly what crossed my mind recently when I received an early morning message from a good friend and supporter of the LFBKids projects. In it, Cindy Januik of the Lacey Home Depot asked if the Food Bank would be interested in a donation of a chest freezer!! With the number of client families on the rise, the ability to store frozen turkeys and lasagnas in anticipation of the bigger holiday food drives has become a top priority for the Lacey Food Bank. This additional freezer will give us safe holding of more turkeys and other freezables throughout the year too!! Many Thanks to Lacey Home Depot, Assistant Store Manager Jerry Pentangelo and Cindy Januik for this generous donation and their continuing commitment to the needs of the Lacey community and the Lacey Food Bank.

Meet the Sampson Family! It is never too early to teach your children the joy of giving back! And that's exactly what Dennis & Dianna Sampson have done. Meet 6yr old Hannah Sampson who already knows that doing whatever you can, right where you are, can make a difference in your community. In the days leading up to the 4th annual Sampson BBQ bash, little Hannah was busy weaving red, white and blue bracelets which she then sold at the BBQ. Entrepreneur? Maybe. Budding philanthropist? For sure! With a fistful of dollar bills (and a beautiful bracelet for me!!) Hannah stopped by the Food Bank and donated her day's take to us! Thank You Hannah and Thank You Mom & Dad!

	Lacey High School Donates over 150 pounds of food! Luke Vincentini (left) and Patrick Moore (right) are carrying over 150 pounds of donated food from Lacey High school on June 19th....Thank you! Congrats and good luck to you guys on your graduation.....

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3rd Annual Saverio B. Constantino Memorial Food Drive

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The love of a son for a father manifests itself in many ways. For Sam Constantino, he honors his dad’s memory by holding a benefit food drive in his name for the Lacey Food Bank just around the time for Father's Day..  And what a food drive this one is. Helped out by his large network of friends and family , Sam takes over Community Hall on a Sunday, holds raffles during the event with gifts donated by local businesses. He collects food, lots of food , and at a time when we really need it - the beginning of the summer. He collects ShopRite gift cards and checks-  this year totaling over $800. And then he and his helpers deliver all of it to the food bank. Who could ask for better friends ? Thanks Sam and thanks to your helpers and supporters. Dad is smiling down on you for sure.

	Technology Update Things are looking up at the Lacey Food Bank lately. Thanks to gifts from the Fish Hawks and Cynthia Pieja , our CPA and trustee, we now have a computer and printer set up in the meeting room at the food bank building. Along with this comes a new email address LFB@laceyfoodbank.org so take note and mark it down in your address book. Thanks Cindy and fisher persons. We sure needed this.

	Silver Cloud Harbor Marina Silver Cloud Marina Annual Flea Market Our old friends at Silver Cloud Marina, David & Dawn Giombetti held their annual flea market sale of boating and fishing supplies, with lucky us being the beneficiary.  Along with a van load of pantry items, a 50-50 yielded us $158. - which will be turned into ShopRite food gift cards. The Giombettie's have been great supporters of the Lacey Food Bank,  having once served as volunteers, and annually as esteemed sponsors. Thanks to all who participated  in the great event. Lacey Food Bank

	LFB Kids Seed & Starter Kits We were pleasantly surprised recently when our local Walmart gifted us with seed starter trays for the LFBKids. With more than 80 of these trays to give to our client families the question now was "Now what?" Tray in hand, we approached a good friend and supporter at Home Depot and not surprisingly she came to our rescue!!! We will be distributing these starter flats along with an assortment of herb seeds to our client families (while supplies last) at this coming distribution. "Teach a man to plant a garden...." THANK YOU DOREEN, CINDY AND JOE for this wonderful gift and learning lesson!!

LACEY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE LENDS A HAND   ACCEPTING THEIR INVITATION TO ATTEND THE MONTHLY MEETING, CHAIRMAN PETE  WAS DAZZLED BY THOSE BIG FIGURES, SHOWN HERE, HE IS  ACCEPTING THE  $1100  DONATION FROM CHAMBER PRESIDENT, JOHN CAFIERO,  ,   IT COMES AT A GOOD TIME, WITH SUMMER LOOMING -  WITH THE BABY BIRDS HUNGRY ALL DAY, NO FOOD GATHERING PROJECTS FROM THE SCHOOLS UNTIL THE FALL, AND LOW STORES ON THE SHELVES.  THANKS TO ALL WHO PUT ON THE FUND RAISER AND TO THE CHAMBER. YOU ARE REAL F.O.F.B. (Friends of the Food Bank)

	Many thanks to Donna McAvoy and all the Plant People for another successful plant sale. It takes a lot of helping hands to make this garden sale grow!!!! Debbie Candeletti, Dan McAvoy and Ashley Candeletti headed up this year's committee and were assisted by Laura Crankshaw, Bailey, Robbie, Rachel, Rosa Steitz, Andrew, Jim and more. The proceeds from this event becomes the seed money to purchase  backpacks for the LFBKids Back2School program. The kids and all of us Thank You for your support!

Letter carrier Brian Roselle, handing off his food to Stores Master  Dick Sansone during the annual food drive in Whiting. Debrah Kluza shows off  her mail truck full of donations while Dick checks in with the chief Guess who got the job of unloading 300 bags of food? Those empty spaces need to be filled. Smile gang - over 300 bags of food from the mail carriers collection stacked, packed and stowed.

LACEY'S FINEST The Lacey Food Bank's annual Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon was held at the Captain's Inn  on Monday, April 21 to celebrate and honor their dedication and hard work over the past year. It was a great chance to meet their fellow volunteers and discuss the past year's activities and plan for the next. Along with socializing, everyone got a chance to win one of Pete's door prizes .  The Food Bank was honored to  present their   ( very prestigious) 4th annual  "Friend of the Food Bank" plaque to the Lacey Recreation Department for their invaluable help in transporting & delivering food to home bound clients.Chairman Pete noted that what they do for these frail clients shows that the recreation department serves ALL the people of Lacey.. Receiving the award were Jim Wioland , Recreation Director, and staff members Bud Mazzera, Ryan Horne and Jack Ryan WINNER WINNER JUDY AND THE WINNER IS ..........CINDY P.

Say Hello to the girls from Troop 50419 who stopped by the Food Bank to lend a hand with the packing of the SnackPacks4Kids. With their leader, Kimberly Cesaretti and several of the Moms cheering them on, the girls made short work of packing the 60+ snack bags that will be distributed to our school age (k-6) children during the regular monthly distribution. The SnackPack4Kids program instituted as part of the LFBKids Committee commitment to No Kid Hungry provides healthy, after school snacks to children who might not have a snack waiting for them at home. The Girl Scouts so enjoyed lending a hand and learning about the Food Bank that they offered to be our regular packers and sackers for this program!! Welcome Aboard Ladies!! This month's snacks were donated by Nicole M. Flanagan who supplied us with pretzels, juice boxes, fruit cups and applesauce. Thank You Nicole!! Additional snacks were provided by Ryan's ServiCenter , Lanoka Harbor. Long time LFBKid supporters, Ryans ServiCenter has offered to be the new sponsor for the monthly SnackPack supplies!!! Thank You Judy & Jeff Ryan!! Spring was in the air and so were the colors of Easter when Mrs. Marita Zaremba, Executive Secretary at the Exelon Corp and her always smiling husband Michael knocked on our door!!! Representing our friends and supporters from the Exelon Corporation they arrived with 2 truckloads of family friendly foods, (including the always needed big family size pb&j) and festive pails filled with Easter goodies for lucky Food Bank Kids. Through Exelon's continuing hands-on involvement in community programs, the Lacey Food Bank was also gifted with a very generous donation that will help us provide a complete Easter dinner for all our clients. Thank You Exelon for your continuing support of the Lacey Food Bank!! GIFTS FROM THE EXELON EASTER BUNNY FOR THE FOOD BANK KIDS . MARCH IS LACEY FOOD BANK MONTH Our Friends at Caffreys, once again held a month long benefit for us with customers, employees, Joe Pasquale & Dan Coleman all helping  to fill the big donation jug at the front desk. CAFFREY'S was one of just two regular benefactors of the food bank way back when it was struggling to keep going, and their support inspired our Esteemed Sponsor program which recognizes the need to have a continuing source of income - the glue that holds us together. The program started modestly with less than 15 sponsors and now has over 100.  Some of the original sponsors have been with us for the 12th year  now. Our goal has always been to have one sponsor per one client family but as  client roles soar - going from 47 back then to over 240 now - reaching that goal is quite a challenge. Thanks to all of the good guys at Caffreys for their commitment in seeing that no one in Lacey go hungry. The Lacey Recreation Department is offering :  SUNSET YOGA FOR LACEY FOOD BANK This yoga progrm, to benefit the Lacey food Bank, is a beginner friendly yoga class designed for all levels to enjoy. Please bring a mat or towel and a bottle of water.  Location: Lake Barnegat Beach (2nd lake)  Instructors: Adrienne Costa-DiPaolo and Amy Riley Fridays, May 2nd, June 6th, & August 1st  6:00-7:00 pm. Admission is Free if you bring a non-perishable food item to class for the benefit of the  Lacey Food Bank. To register call or email for an application Recreation Dept 693-11 Ext. 2203  or email lacey.recreation@laceytownship.org T.J. Maxx "A TRUE F.O.F.B.  (Friend Of the Food Bank) Despite the gloom and doom of a punishing winter, the sun was shining over T.J. Maxx recently , when store keeper Dick Sansone was presented with a check for $6,000 - courtesy of the TJX Foundation. The grant will be used to support our monthly & emergency food distribution program. Thanks to our good neighbors at TJ Max for their ongoing help in our war against hunger. Shown here are Asst. Store Manager Karen Davis and  Store Manager Gina Georgiano presenting their gift to Dick.  VOLLEYING FOR FOOD  February found the the Lacey Townshp Elementary school PTA's and PTO, FRS,CCS, LHS and MPS getting together at the high school for the 6th annual staff volleyball game. Each child that donated an item for the Lacey Food Bank was given raffle ticket toward a $25. Walmart gift certificate. Lauren M. from Mill Pond School was the winner. Forked River School was the winner of the volleyball tournament, beating Lanoka Harbor school 16-14. It was an exciting game.  And thanks to Jordan Rensel from BS Trooop 56 who donated his time to help collect food and hand out rafflle tickets. Just check out the pile of donated food  A win-win for all of us. BIG NIGHT FOR TEAM SPIRIT ! GOOD SCOUT JORDAN THANKS TO OUR AMAZING VOLUNTEERS! The weather outside was frightening, but inside the warm and welcoming ambiance of the Captains Inn provided a cozy venue for our outstanding volunteer team of the Lacey Food Bank for our Annual Volunteer Holiday Luncheon. 2013 was a year of hard work and dedication as we continued our efforts to feed the hungry in our community, whose needs were multiplied in the aftermath of Super Storm Sandy.  We also opened our new distribution facility, which has been such a godsend for both those we serve and our own staff in setting up and delivery. A rousing good time was had by all as our volunteer staff met, mingled and partook of the lovely, delicious buffet whipped up by the chefs of the Captains Inn. Our Volunteer Chairman Pete Peters’ cheerful spirit was missed as he flew south to Florida to recuperate from his recent heath issues. Thanks to LFB Co-Chair Laura Caroccia for stepping in to organize the event. Once again, we would like to express our heartfelt thanks to these giving, caring men and women, without whom we couldn’t carry on with our mission to feed the needy in our very own Lacey Township.

2014 MESSAGES FROM OUR LFB CO-CHAIRS

	HAROLD "PETE" PETERS The Lacey Food Bank welcomes you to our web site. Thanks for taking an interest in who we are and the work we do for the less fortunate in Lacey Township. We are proud of the community we serve and are humbled by how the community itself rallies around to help. How fast the end of 2013 has crept up on us. Again, the generosity and passion from our 90+ volunteers shines through as they work vigilantly to keep our food bank running smoothly.  Not only have we stayed our mission, but have met the challenge of our ever-increasing responsibility to help feed and support over 200 families and their children right here in our little village of Lacey. I am so grateful to be part of this team and the job they do. I look forward to facing 2014’s responsibilities with all of you.  After a medical setback slowed me for a while, I plan to "roll my sleeves up" and continue my effort to be a part of our extraordinary team.  Wishing you all a Happy Healthy Prosperous New Year! Harold (Pete) Peters Co-Chair, Lacey Food Bank Chairman, Volunteer Committee   LAURA CAROCCIA People often ask "How's it going at the Food Bank"?  The short answer is "Busy".  The truth is, jobs are scarce and real incomes are down, forcing more families to ask for help in order to make ends meet.  For so many, it is the first time they have had to ask for assistance. And so it is heartwarming and encouraging to know that in Lacey, neighbors can still depend on neighbors. Community groups, businesses, schools, sports groups, fraternal, civic and charitable organizations, private individuals and our own LFB volunteers have stepped up to help feed their Lacey neighbors who need it the most - the elderly, the disabled and now, more than ever, the children.    How Can You Help?   Easy—At the Lacey ShopRite, pick up an extra can or two – always take the 2 for 1 specials. Buy those 10 for $10 items – we love bulk donations – and on your way out put your donation in the Lacey Food Bank Bins located in the lobby.    Easier—Throw your loose change in a can and bring it in at the end of the month.  Easiest—Become an Esteemed Sponsor. Write a check - $20.00 a month helps us feed a family.     We recognize that there are many challenges ahead. We know that we must have new ideas, new vision and courage to continue to grow and adapt to the changes we see in our client base and in our town. With your help, I am looking forward to 2014 as a year that will see us developing and growing our partnerships, our programs and welcoming new volunteers.  Opportunities to help others surround us every day. If you and I do just a little bit of good, right where we are, then we can and will make a world of difference in the lives of the more than 650 Lacey men, women and children we serve.     On behalf of all of us at the Lacey Food Bank, I wish you a Happy and Healthy New Year!  Laura Caroccia  Co-Chairman Lacey Food Bank Chairman of the Lacey Food Bank Kids Committee