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.
The Annual Woodbridge Township Veteran’s Day Parade is set to march down Main Street to Town Hall on Sun., Nov. 10 – the parade steps-off from Ross Street School at 1:30 PM and marches to Town Hall. Hundreds of Township residents and visitors will salute our Township veterans and active-duty military personnel from all branches of service as they proudly march with representatives from Township veterans organizations:
•American Legion Post #87 • American Legion T. Nulty Post #471
•American Legion Post #248 • VFW Woodbridge Memorial Post #4410
•Cpl. Kevin J. Reinhard Marine Corps League Detachment #189
•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
We salute and thank our Woodbridge Township Veterans!!!

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 which spares the bird’s life and ensures 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’s 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 – the food items collected before, during and after the Thanksgiving holiday will be distributed to needy Woodbridge Township families and individuals through the following food pantries:
• Heavens Helper’s Pantry, 343 Pearl Street, Woodbridge – 732-742-8942
• First Presbyterian Church, 20 Middlesex Avenue, Iselin – 732-283-1188
• Trinity Episcopal Church, Trinity Lane, Woodbridge – 732-634-7422 x4
• Metro Park Assembly of God, 48 Berkeley Blvd., Iselin – 732-310-8758
• First Presbyterian Church, 600 Rahway Avenue, Woodbridge – 732-634-1024
• St. James Roman Catholic Church, 174 Grove Street, Woodbridge – 732-636-4310
• First Presbyterian Church of Avenel, 621 E. Woodbridge Avenue – 732-634-1631
• First Congregational Church-Women of Faith, Barron Avenue, WB 732-634-0582
• St. Cecelia Roman Catholic Church, 45 Wilus Way, Iselin – 732-283-0150
• Elijah’s Bread Food Pantry, Ridgedale and E. Prospect Avenues, WB – 732-636-7727
• First Baptist Church of Sewaren, Sewaren – 732-750-9475
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.