{"id":28480,"date":"2024-04-24T12:54:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-24T16:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecoaster.net\/?p=28480"},"modified":"2024-04-30T08:54:56","modified_gmt":"2024-04-30T12:54:56","slug":"bradley-food-pantry-closing-its-doors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecoaster.net\/2024\/04\/24\/bradley-food-pantry-closing-its-doors\/","title":{"rendered":"Bradley Food Pantry Closing Its Doors"},"content":{"rendered":"

By WILLIAM CLARK<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Bradley Food Pantry in Bradley Beach is closing its doors on Fourth Avenue on May 17.<\/p>\n

The decision was made following some complaints received from the property owner about patrons waiting in line for food.<\/p>\n

Mayor Larry Fox said that about 10 families on Fourth Avenue were pressuring the pantry, complaining of people lining up early to receive assistance from the organization. St. James Episcopal Church, which allows the pantry to operate on its property, asked Director Linda Curtiss to pare down the offerings from five days a week to three before ultimately demanding that the volunteer driven organization only open its doors for just a single day.<\/p>\n

Over 175 volunteers work throughout the week to make sure that over 700 food insecure people are able to be adequately fed, the mayor said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole situation is abhorrent,\u201d Fox said. \u201cShame on anybody who has part in the demise of this 40-year institution of Bradley Beach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fox said that last year a petition circulated on the block regarding issues that residents observed in people that would line up in the early hours to receive food.<\/p>\n

In a letter the church sent to Curtiss, the church said, \u201cThere is often shouting among the people who gather. There have been incidents of public urination. Neighborhood children on their way to school face inappropriate, at times aggressive, comments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Curtiss said days and hours of operation were limited at the church\u2019s request but that\u00a0 contributed to issues with crowds. With fewer opportunities to access the pantry, more people had to utilize it during the times it was available.<\/p>\n

Curtiss also rebutted the concept that the complaints were what led to the most recent decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese behaviors are very old,\u201d she said. \u201cTwo, three years old. It\u2019s not fair to the people that come to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The church also said that groups that use the facility are unable to anymore due to the increased demand on the pantry, in addition to damage to the building that has occurred in higher trafficked areas of the building.<\/p>\n

The pantry staff also made sure residents\u2019 driveways were not blocked in the area. In addition a lottery system was also set up so that it was no longer first come, first serve.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were very successful at methods to make sure no driveways were blocked,\u201d Curtiss\u00a0 said.<\/p>\n

The church pointed to the limitations that being set up in a residential neighborhood brings.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe infrastructure now in place was\u00a0intended to support a small church feeding ministry, not a large nonprofit,\u201d the letter said. \u201cMost church feeding programs operate for only one day a week, occasionally two, for very limited hours. Those in residential neighborhoods operate much less frequently.\u201d<\/p>\n

The decision baffles Fox.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey met with families, they took corrective action,\u201d Fox said of the pantry. \u201cThey felt they were on a good path for peaceful coexistence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fox said that the objective of the Pantry is to provide dignity to those in need by providing a supermarket-like experience and offering fresh food options.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey feel like they are being respected,\u201d Fox said.<\/p>\n

This and the growing need from the 10 surrounding towns that the pantry serves doubled the demand placed on the organization since before the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

Curtiss and her volunteers are now on a mission to secure a new space to operate. She said she has researched over a 100 spots but none have been the right fit between zoning and square footage needed. Even Mayor Fox has pitched in, touring the township with Curtiss to find a new place to set up.<\/p>\n

\u201cLarry has been very supportive,\u201d Curtiss said. \u201cHe\u2019s gone above and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n

Curtiss isn\u2019t deterred by the setback. She is resolute in her path forward and apologetic to the volunteers and community members that have formed a community around the pantry\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a privilege to be able to help,\u201d Curtiss said. \u201cI\u2019m sorry that others don\u2019t see it that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bishop Sally French of the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey said in an email, \u201cThe Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey is committed to working to end food insecurity and hunger in our communities. I give thanks for the success of the Food Pantry under Linda Curtiss\u2019 leadership and look forward to continuing to support their efforts as they move to a new facility that will be better equipped for the current size and volume of their programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By WILLIAM CLARK The Bradley Food Pantry in Bradley Beach is closing its doors on Fourth Avenue on May 17. The decision was made following some complaints received from the property owner about patrons waiting in line for food. Mayor Larry Fox said that about 10 families on Fourth Avenue were pressuring the pantry, complaining […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":28481,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoaster.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28480"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoaster.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoaster.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoaster.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoaster.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28480"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thecoaster.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28482,"href":"https:\/\/thecoaster.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28480\/revisions\/28482"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoaster.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoaster.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoaster.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoaster.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}