Every week we continue to receive calls, texts and emails asking when we plan to re-open.  We constantly hear how there are so few options that compare to the assistance that people received through the Dream Center.  Thank you to everyone who has sent information and recommendations for properties that might be a good fit for us.  We are still looking!  In the meantime, yes, we agree, there is a great need in south Jersey for the South Jersey Dream Center...

Every once in a while we get asked how we know if people who visit the Dream Center are really in need.  They're curious as to how a person qualifies to receive our assistance, and if we screen people, or if just anybody can walk in and take what they need and go.  For every person that asks, most likely there are others who are wondering the same thing but don't ask.  These are great questions. 

"Hey 2016! Before you go, we want to take a few minutes to say...thank you!" Thank you for bringing us increase on every level. From the first day until now, we connected with thousands of children, adults, seniors, veterans, professionals, students and everyday people in our local community. We provided over 200,000 pounds of food, clothing, personal hygiene items, diapers and pet items. We doubled our food partners and volunteers. We tripled our food drives, grants and sponsorships, and digital media presence. 

The South Jersey Dream Center burst into the Thanksgiving Season with the Fifth Annual Dodge Hunger Dodgeball Tournament at the RiverWinds Community Center the first Saturday in November.  Players from NJ and PA formed teams of six or more to help raise funds in support of the South Jersey Dream Center Monthly Food & Clothing Distribution on the third Tuesday of each month at the National Park Fire Hall.  

Kittens?  Well, balloon kittens, to be exact.  Where?  At our Fourth Annual Family & Friends Day, what a blast!  Each year, we like to host this special occasion during our August Food and Clothing Distribution.  Why?  To honor and show our appreciation for the precious people we serve...many of whom have become like family, and ALL our friends.  Our thinking...this calls for a celebration!

The price tag on the meat we ate tonight that we received from the Food Pantry was more than I make on my job in one day, thank you! I feel so appreciated when I volunteer at the Food Pantry. When I get there, I can't wait to get this party started!  - J.J., Mantua.  Whoa, what kind of food distribution program gives away such great quality meat?  A food distribution program with GREAT PARTNERS!  We count it a privilege to serve the people in our community, but without our food partners, we would have nothing to serve.  Let us introduce them to you...

It's 11 am, over 175 clients and volunteers are packed into the National Park Fire Hall...and you can hear a pin drop.  All eyes, some tear-filled, are on Dr. Rose Dean as she shares the reality of how grief affects our lives, at one time or another, through loss.  Loss of a loved one, a job, a home, a marriage.  Grief?  What does that have to do with food?  A whole lot...

This time last year, we were getting ready to make a small move that would turn out to be a big deal!  Providing food assistance for families in Runnemede was such a success, that by the close of 2014, after only ten months, we had already outgrown the local VFW.  It was time to either cut back on the number of people we served or increase our reach in a larger facility.

Bob Cleveland, Branch Manager of Columbia Bank in West Deptford, took time out of his busy schedule this month to volunteer at the South Jersey Dream Center Food Pantry at the National Park Fire Hall in National Park.  As past president of the Greater Woodbury Chamber of Commerce, Bob Cleveland is no stranger to the local area, and a strong supporter of businesses taking every opportunity to give back to the surrounding community.  

Over 40 students from Africa, Europe and South America attending the Faith International Training School (FITS) came out to lend a helping hand at the South Jersey Dream Center Food Pantry last month.  FITS Pastor, Marty Happle, lead the caravan from their campus in Sayreville, NJ for this much anticipated visit.  Though hunger is prevalent in every corner of the world, the method of distributing food varies from continent to continent.  Therefore, it was our privilege to share with the FITS students and staff how the South Jersey Dream Center meets the needs of local families.  

At the beginning of the year we received a call from a local organization called Heart of Gloucester County, that had an abundant supply of coats to donate and wanted to know if we were interested.  Yes!  We scooped them up and offered them to our Food Distribution guests at our February distribution.  Coats of all sizes for adults and children...they loved them...this was the jump-start we were waiting for!