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Fire Destroys Jackson Food Pantry's Inventory
By Keith Hagarty
 | | --Photo By Keith Hagarty A fire swept through the headquarters of the Jackson Food Pantry, the office of the township's department code enforcement and housing and animal control on Wednesday night. The township seeks donations of non-perishable items to replenish the food pantry's destroyed inventory. |
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JACKSON - A fire ripped through the building housing the township food pantry, code enforcement and housing and animal control departments on Wednesday night, destroying the pantry's entire inventory of food and supplies.
No one was injured in the fire, with preliminary reports indicating it was possibly caused by an electrical malfunction from a recessed lighting fixture in the lobby of the building on Don Conner Boulevard, according to Councilman Jason Gudaitis, who serves as chairman of the council's subcommittee of law and public safety.
Shortly after the fire broke out, around 9 p.m., Gudaitis and Jackson Mayor Mark Seda received a phone call from township Public Safety Director Matthew Kunz alerting them of the emergency. Gudaitis and Seda soon arrived to the scene, with the fire already extinguished.
"They had the fire pretty much under control by the time we got there," said Gudaitis. "The fire itself seems to be contained in the code enforcement section of the building, with the food pantry on the other side. However (the food pantry), had serious smoke damage."
While the flames of the fire did not directly engulf the inventory shelves of non-perishable food items, the damage from the intense heat and smoke was significant, according to Gudaitis.
"It looks like all the food was destroyed," he said. The pantry lost all of their items which were intended to be distributed to Jackson's most needy families on September 27.
"I've already spoken to ShopRite in Jackson, and they contacted the merchants association for that ShopRite complex," said Gudaitis. "Both ShopRite itself and the merchants association have already promised donations, and I'm reaching out to Stop n' Shop … and the Monmouth and Ocean food banks, and they're also assisting and reviewing what the food pantry is going to be getting for December for their food allotment."
The township is asking the community for donations of non-perishable food items to help restock the food pantry. Food bins will soon be placed all around town, with some of them being found at ShopRite on North County Line Road, Jackson Day and the municipal building on West Veterans Highway.
For more information on donations, residents are encouraged to call the mayor's office in town hall at 732-928-1200.
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