By Mayor John E. McCormac
November is the month when we recognize not only the Duty and Valor of our Veterans for their service in securing the Freedoms of our Nation, but, just as importantly, we offer our thanks for the bounty that our nation has provided for nearly four centuries.
This year, we are pleased to announce that our annual Veterans Day parade – Sunday, November 12, 2023 – steps-off from Ross Street Elementary School at 1:30 PM, so plan to join the hundreds of Township residents and visitors as we salute our Veterans and active-duty military personnel from all branches of service as they proudly march with representatives from the Woodbridge Township Veterans Alliance:
American Legion Post #87
American Legion T. Nulty Post #471
American Legion Post #248
Cpl. Kevin J. Reinhard Marine Corps League Detachment #189
VFW Woodbridge Memorial Post #4410
VFW Hopelawn Memorial Post #1352
VFW Colonia Memorial Post #6061
VFW Avenel Memorial Post #7164
VFW Iselin Memorial Post #2636
VFW Fords Memorial Post #6090
Disabled American Veterans Chapter #56
Woodbridge, along with the rest of the nation, celebrates the tradition of a good harvest with the Thanksgiving holiday. The Pilgrims and Puritans who began emigrating from England in the 1620s and 1630s carried the tradition of “Days of Fasting” and “Days of Thanksgiving” with them to New England. Several days of Thanksgiving were held in early New England history that has been identified as the “First Thanksgiving.” President George Washington proclaimed the first nation-wide Thanksgiving celebration in America marking November 26, 1789 as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer. In modern times, the President of the United States, in addition to issuing a Thanksgiving Proclamation, pardons a turkey, thus ensuring that it will spend the duration of its life roaming freely on open farmland.
As we pause to celebrate our Thanksgiving, I would like to issue a Woodbridge Proclamation that we as a community extend the bounty of the Thanksgiving holiday season and work to replenish and restock Township food banks. Hunger knows no season and no boundary. It is crucial that we work every day – not just during the holiday season – to collect food as we work to help provide the necessities of life to our neighbors and families who might otherwise go hungry.
According to a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture report, more than 14 million American families – 11.9 percent of all U.S. households – are at some time during the year uncertain of, or unable to purchase enough food for their family. The Woodbridge Township food banks serve approximately 700 needy families each month and the food items collected before and after the Thanksgiving holiday will be distributed to Woodbridge Township families and individuals through the following food pantries:
St. Anthony’s of Padua Roman Catholic Church, Port Reading
Heavens Helper’s Pantry, Woodbridge
First Presbyterian Church, Iselin
Trinity Episcopal Church, Woodbridge
Evangel Church of Woodbridge
First Presbyterian Church, Woodbridge
St. James Roman Catholic Church, Woodbridge
First Presbyterian Church of Avenel
First Congregational Church Food Pantry, Woodbridge
St. Cecelia Roman Catholic Church, Iselin
Fellowship Bible Church Food Pantry (formerly Elijah’s Bread Food Pantry)
Trinity Episcopal Church Soup Kitchen, Woodbridge
The year-round effort to keep Woodbridge Township food banks stocked continues with food donations being part of every Township-sponsored event throughout the upcoming holiday season. Non-perishable foods can be dropped off any weekday at the Woodbridge Township Public Health Center, 2 George Frederick Plaza, between 8:30 AM and 4:30 PM. Additional food drop-off locations are at Woodbridge Town Hall, 1 Main Street, the Woodbridge Library, 1 George Frederick Plaza, or at the Woodbridge Community Center, 600 Main Street.
