By MADDY VITALE
Sea Isle City residents, organizations and businesses have proved over the years that generosity comes no matter how difficult the times.
Now, the rising cost of food continues to make families stretch their dollars and struggle.
But the food cupboard at the Sea Isle United Methodist Church is always there for those who need some help. In a boost for the food cupboard, the city’s Post Office branch participated in the national “Stamp Out Hunger” postal food drive and donated some of the items to the church last week.
The food cupboard is overflowing now.
The most recent outpouring of generosity and kindness from the people of Sea Isle is amazing, United Methodist Church Pastor Melissa Doyle-Waid said Thursday.
In fact, there were so many food donations that Doyle-Waid had to create extra space for the food cupboard items. Food from pastas and soups to cereals and canned vegetables, among other nonperishable foods, will be distributed to clients of the food cupboard in the coming weeks.
“They gave us so much that we will have to expand. We have another room we will use for the overflow space,” Doyle-Waid noted of the successful postal food drive. “We will make the one room specifically for the food. We are talking about moving the refrigeration into the other room and putting more food racks up in the one room.”
Each year, the local branch of the post office participates in the annual food drive and Sea Isle residents are always giving, Doyle-Waid emphasized.
“The post office does a food drive every year and they give us food. This year they went crazy,” she said.
The donations were collected on May 13. Postal workers put bags in residents’ mailboxes and then collected them later.
“People followed through. The nice thing is it shows us that if everyone just gives a little, it becomes a lot, whenever we work together,” Doyle-Waid said.
She said that credit should be given to postal worker and coordinator of the Sea Isle postal food drive, Melissa Bell.
“Sea isle is really good at giving donations and when there are problems, they always meet the challenge. But this year especially, they far exceeded it,” Doyle-Waid said.
Food distribution days at the church are on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, but Doyle-Waid said it really goes by what is best for the clients.
“We will do a big food distribution,” she said. “I will reach out to our clients and ask their needs and they will schedule their days for pick up.”
Although the postal food drive was hugely successful for donations, Doyle-Waid emphasized that the church food cupboard is always in need of food and toiletries to give to those in need.
“We have all of these donations, but they will run out and one thing about food, we will always have a need for more donations,” she noted.
For anyone who would like an appointment to pick up food or to donate food and toiletries, contact Pastor Melissa Doyle-Waid at 609-231-4929. There is a drop box for nonperishable foods at the church. To learn more, visit https://seaislemethodist.org/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/UnitedMethodistChurchOfSeaIsleCity.
