CARTERET—On Saturday, July 12, a ribbon cutting ceremony was held for The Partners Against Hunger Food Bank, located in the basement of the Iglesia de Dios church located at 712 Roosevelt Avenue in Carteret. The food pantry is a cooperative partnership with The Zion Lutheran Church, The Iglesia de Dios Church and Boy Scout Troop 88 which is sponsored by The American Legion Post 263.
Pictured at the ribbon cutting ceremony are, from left to right, front Mayor Daniel Reiman, and Eagle Scout Ryan Gerstler; rear, Assemblyman Joseph Vas, Council Member Susan Naples and Scoutmaster Fred Gerstler
In attendance were Assemblyman Joseph Vas, Carteret Mayor Daniel Reiman and Council Member Sue Naples who presented accommodations for the construction of the food pantry to Eagle Scout Ryan Gerstler and the cooperative partnership.
The food pantry was spearheaded by Ryan Gerstler for his Eagle Scout Project. This was a very aggressive project that required architectural drawings and building permits.
Although the scouts provided all the labor, construction was overseen by Stanley Gadomski of Painting with Mr G., incorporated located in Port Reading. The electrical work was donated by PSG Electrical of Edison. The steel beams were donated by Jafco Supply, Inc. of South Plainfield.
Donations for sheetrock were provided by The Home Depot of Woodbridge, Colonia and Linden. A solid wood door, which was converted into a Dutch door, was donated by Lowes of Woodbridge. Insulation was donated by New Pak, Inc. of South Plainfield. Abbe Lumber of Avenel, Baumgartner’s Hardware and Plaza Hardware of Carteret also provided the troop with miscellaneous building supplies.
New Century Distributors Group of Rahway donated the steel shelving. Architectural drawings were provided, at no charge, by A. Ondar Design of Marlboro. The project took over 450 man hours to complete.
Donations for the food pantry can be dropped off at Family Hair Care located in the Carteret Shopping Center, Tuesday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
