Senior citizens enjoy the new kosher lunch program at the Morganville Senior Center. The program began on June 2.
Photo courtesy Jeff Riback
June 24, 2008
A new program is under way that will provide hot kosher lunches to the senior citizens of Marlboro Township.
Twenty-five seniors took part on the program’s opening day on June 2 at the new Morganville Senior Center (Morganville is part of Marlboro Township). The kosher meals program, which will be available to seniors every Monday, was the fulfillment of a pledge by the township and the JCC of Greater Monmouth County in Deal to provide additional services to the county’s senior citizens population.
“Several years ago, I wanted to start a lunch program, but lack of space at the Marlboro Recreation Center on Wyndcrest Road prevented it from happening,” said Denise Barry, the township’s senior citizens director.
However, when Marlboro began renovations on a township-owned building on Texas Road two years ago, Barry asked township officials if the site could be used for a senior citizens lunch program. The answer was an enthusiastic yes, and Barry began researching the project.
Meanwhile, three JCC staffers — Marion Riback, who became a senior services social work intern at the JCC in January; Randi Cohen, the facility’s assistant director of programming; and JCC CEO Jess Levy — were discussing ways to expand its existing kosher meal program. Each year, the JCC’s meals-on-wheels project and its on-site food program provide approximately 20,000 kosher meals to the county’s senior citizens, Levy said.
“But I always felt we could be more effective if we collaborated with other parties,” he said. “I suggested that Marion begin to look for an outreach partner.”
Program expenditures also were a consideration. Although the Deal JCC receives funding for its food program from the county Office on Aging, the United Way, the Jewish Federation of Monmouth County, and private donations, the funds do not cover the entire cost of the program, Levy said, adding that the JCC pays the balance from its own operating account.
“There is a big gap between the food services we provide and the funding allocations,” said Levy. “We need continued community support to maintain and expand these services.”
‘Immediate impact’
The new food program in Marlboro will cost approximately $500 a week, and the figure may increase as more seniors participate, Levy said. At present, the Marlboro seniors are asked to pay a $3 fee for each meal.
Shortly after her internship began, Riback, a Marlboro resident who is enrolled in a graduate social work program at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, learned that Barry was trying to institute a lunch program for senior citizens.
“We were lucky, because we found the right place at the right time,” Riback said. “While Denise began to structure the program on her end, we started to pull the program together here.
“It was the congregate collaboration that allowed this project to happen.”
The meals are prepared at the JCC in Deal by center staff and are transported to Morganville in a specially equipped vehicle that keeps the food hot.
“It was a joyous feeling to see this program begin in Marlboro,” said Cohen of Fair Haven. “To see its immediate, positive impact was gratifying and wonderful. The collaboration between the township and the JCC has resulted in something that is very meaningful.”
Accolades also came from federation executive director Howard Gases and Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik.
“Serving our senior population has to be one of the top priorities of the organized Jewish community,” said Gases. “I am proud that the JCC of Greater Monmouth County took the initiative to provide more kosher meals to its senior population.”
Hornik said a primary goal of the local governing body has been to improve the quality of life for seniors. The township commissioned a new senior citizens bus in March and added additional drivers to increase transportation options for the seniors. (The cost of the drivers’ services comes from the township’s operating budget.)
“I’m so happy to partner with the JCC for this special program, and I’m glad they thought that we could be a beneficial partner with them,” Hornik said. “This program is a phenomenal thing. I’d like to explore other possibilities of working with the JCC and the federation.”
For Barry, this new endeavor represents all that’s right in Monmouth County.
“I felt so strongly about getting this program for our seniors,” she said. “It was the right thing to do for a segment of the population that deserves this kind of service, and it happened because people communicated their good intensions. So far, the senior citizens are thrilled — and I’m pretty happy too.”
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