How Fulfill is battling food insecurity in Monmouth, Ocean counties

Locations

• Neptune headquarters: 3300 Route 66, Neptune
• Fulfill’s People’s Pantry: 1769 Hooper Ave., Toms River

Leader

Triada Stampas, CEO

Origin

Fulfill (formerly the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties) was founded in 1984 in a small warehouse in Spring Lake by local residents who recognized a growing hunger crisis in their community. They launched a grassroots effort to collect food and support neighbors facing hunger, laying the foundation for the community hunger-relief network we know today.

Mission/vision

Fulfill combats food insecurity through a network of nearly 300 pantry partners, providing 1.3 million meals monthly to nearly 120,000 neighbors who are food insecure. Fulfill also connects neighbors to essential services and resources, addressing systemic barriers to self-sufficiency and supporting healthier, more resilient communities.

Key programs

• Backpack Program: Fulfill provides backpacks of nutritious food to students on Fridays, which supplies families with enough food to get through the weekends and holiday breaks.
• Seed-to-Supper: Fulfill’s Seed-to-Supper garden education program empowers families to grow their own fresh, healthy food. From planting seeds to harvesting produce, participants learn hands-on gardening skills and nutrition tips to support long-term food security.
• Mobile Pantries: Fulfill’s Mobile Pantries bring fresh food and essential groceries directly to neighborhoods where transportation or access to a traditional pantry may be limited. These pop-up distributions ensure families can receive healthy food right where they live.

Biggest event/fundraiser

Shore to Rock Hunger event

One more thing

Fulfill recently broke ground on the expansion of its Neptune warehouse. The expansion will add 13,000 square feet of warehouse space and nearly 5,000 square feet of cold storage, significantly increasing Fulfill’s capacity to store and distribute fresh, nutritious foods and meet the growing needs of neighbors in Monmouth and Ocean counties.

How to support

To learn more about Fulfill’s mission or to become involved,
visit fulfillnj.org/ways-to-help/.