Starve Poverty Celebrated By Barnegat Officials

BARNEGAT, NJ — Barnegat Township officials received an update on the nonprofit Starve Poverty during a recent Township Committee meeting, where presenters said the group’s food pantry, home repair work and child hunger efforts have grown since opening in township-provided space in 2022.

Ron Fraser, founder of Starve Poverty, thanked the township for what he called a strong partnership.

“We are taking care of many, many residents,” Fraser said. “But truthfully, without the partnership of Barnegat Township, we would not be doing what we're doing.”

He said the group’s food pantry, home repairs and vocational training plans have been possible because of township support.

Sam Doncaster, the group’s grant coordinator, said Starve Poverty began operating in February 2022 in a 2,400-square-foot building made available by the township. He said 30 families came to the pantry in its first month. By the end of that year, he said, the pantry had served 175 distinct families, representing 570 people, including 110 children.

Doncaster said the pantry served 240 distinct families in 2023, with more than 78,000 pounds of food distributed, which he said was equivalent to 65,000 meals. In 2024, he said, those figures rose to 320 families, almost 900 people and nearly 100,000 pounds of food. Last year, he said, the pantry served more than 435 distinct families, more than 1,000 people and distributed 188,000 pounds of food, which he said was equal to 157,000 meals.

“That’s a 91 percent increase over the previous year,” Doncaster said. He also said community donations rose from about 12 percent when the program started to 30 percent last year. According to Doncaster, the pantry is now handling about 1.8 tons of food each week.

The group also reported growth in other services. Doncaster said Starve Poverty has completed 51 urgent home repair projects since moving into the facility. He said those jobs have included roof repair or replacement, accessibility ramps, flooring repairs, bathroom modifications, plumbing work and hot water heater replacement.

Michelle O’Brien spoke about the group’s No Hungry Kids program, which works with schools to identify families in need and provide grocery and meal gift cards.

“No child should have to worry about their next meal,” O’Brien said. She said school counselors and social workers often recognize early signs of need and that the program is designed to help families privately and quickly.

Committee members thanked the organization for the work. One township official told Fraser the nonprofit was providing services local government and county government could not provide.

Fraser said the group’s main challenge is space. He said Starve Poverty is using two storage containers behind the building and is looking for additional room to store food and disaster relief supplies.