Here’s What You Need to Know About Asbury Park Dinner Table

Have you heard of this special non-profit and how it is helping the community?:

Asbury Park Dinner Table (APDT) is a non-profit that came about because of the pandemic. It's mission is simple: To support local restaurants and feed local families.

APDT was founded this past March in response to the economic crisis hitting the city of Asbury Park -- as an unintended consequence of keeping the public safe during the Covid-19 pandemic.

This organization takes private donations and uses that money to purchase dinner meals from local restaurants and deliver those meals to allocated distribution points throughout Asbury Park. Volunteers then serve the diner meals daily to anyone looking for a meal -- no qualifiers, no ID needed, and no questions asked.

Since March of this year, APDT has distributed an average of 350 dinners each day and a total of more than 60,000 meals from so many participating restaurants and has raised over $215,000 in cash to support local restaurants, in addition to receiving thousands  of dollars of in-kind donations and services from local businesses like The Asbury Hotel, Kula Farms, and Sickles Market.

Some major contributors of funds have included the NJ Pandemic Relief Fund, iStar Financial, Sackman Enterprises, The Watermark, The Stone Pony, and, of course, our friends at New Jersey Natural Gas.

APDT has provided cash to keep local restaurants afloat, saving many local hospitality and restaurant jobs. The APDT founders: Small business owner Kathy Kelly, Asbury Park School Board member Joe Grillo, resident Julie Andreola and local artist Allison Kolarik. They started APDT without ever being in the same room together (and have actually just met in person recently!)

Even as restaurants have opened back up, the need is still great. Food insecurity is real. To get more info or to donate, CLICK HERE.

Special thanks to Tom Hayes from New Jersey Natural Gas for telling us about APDT and sharing community non-profits and their needs with us regularly so that we can help spread the word to those who are in a position to help or to those who may need help. And a big thank you to NJNG for their generous contributions to helping local charities throughout Monmouth and Ocean Counties.

For more info on what NJNG is doing in our community to help others, as well as to help you, CLICK HERE.