
A food distribution program that is estimated to have given out about 12,000 pounds of produce a month for more than a year is still going strong, police say.
The program is run by the Franklin Township Police Department’s Community Relations Bureau at 935 Hamilton Street. The head of the bureau, Det. Sgt. Rebecca Lea, said the program is well-known in the community.
About 1,000 boxes of produce are delivered to the CRB by the Franklin Food Bank for distribution on the first Wednesday of every month, Lea said.
The distribution begins at 11 a.m. and lasts until about 1:30, she said. Each family can take two boxes of food, she said.
In addition to the Food Bank, other local organizations that help out with the distribution are the Greater Somerset YMCA and Islamic Circle of New Jersey on Hamilton Street, Lea said.
Lea said the CRB got involved in the distribution because, “We just saw there was a need in the community. We don’t have access to food ourselves, but we’ve got bodies and can hand it out, so the Food Bank got the food, and the cops hand it out.”
Lea said the program is quite well-known in the community, adding that there’s no need to advertise it now.
“It gets quite hectic here at 11 a.m.,” she said. “It’s definitely a successful program.”