In just four days, AP Dinner Table has connected fare from local restaurants to over 1,400 of the most vulnerable in the city, thanks in part to a few angel donors. Among them is the city’s master waterfront redeveloper iStar, who not only made a $12K donation but is also offering to be a sustaining sponsor.

“Given the extraordinary difficulty that so many in our community are now facing, we hope that our donation, and support of this initiative, will help put food on the table of those in need in Asbury Park,” said iStar’s Senior VP Brian Cheripka. “ In addition, our partner David Bowd, and his team at The Asbury, will be using vegetables from [Interfaith Neighbors’] Kula Urban Farm to make and donate soups to help provide meals. We realize that these events are much larger than all of us and that now is the time to work together.”

AP Dinner Table is the brainchild of Paranormal Books and Curiosities owner Kathy Kelly, who has owned and operated her downtown venue for over a decade. 

“I’m very grateful to be able to do this,” Kelly said. “It’s hard for me to believe that it’s been just over a week since this idea popped into my head.” 

Kelly closed her Cookman Avenue store on Friday, March 13. 

“I was trying to think of who the most vulnerable businesses were in Asbury Park,” Kelly said. “I  had this little idea that I would sell Paranormal gift cards as a way to provide meals and support our most vulnerable residents. We have hunger in Asbury Park and we had restaurants going out of businesses so I thought what if we came up with a program where we were buying gift certificates and it would feed two birds with one seed.”

Kelly said she and her team of organizers have never been in the same room since the initiative launched. 

“When people say communities stop because we can’t stand next to each other that is a fallacy,” Kelly said. “We created something using our cell phones that have impacted thousands of families. I’m more connected to my community today than I was 10 days ago.”

On March 14, a small collective got the word out via social media and did an email outreach to local eateries. Two days later they were up and running, making the announcement that they are ‘on a mission to help our local restaurants and hungry families during these insecure times. By partnering with local churches and supporting local restaurants, we will not only mitigate the local economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to our restaurants, we will be feeding dinner to local families who are experiencing food insecurity.’ 

Founding organizer Joe Grillo said by week’s end [in just 4 days] they had raised close to $25K. Asbury Park Dinner Table began taking donations on March 17. They raised over $1,200 overnight. Their first angel donor was Watermark owner Russell Lewis, who had closed his waterfront venue in order to keep his staff safe. He also jumped in [behind the scenes] to help organize the endeavor.

A number of eateries immediately joined the initiative, including restaurateur Marilyn Schlossbach, MOGO, Cardinal Provisions, Reyla, Belmonte Ristorante, Purple Glaze, Confections of a Rock$tar, Pasta Volo, Local 130 Seafood, and Modine. 

And most recently, Kelly says The Asbury’s owner/operator David Bowd joined on to make soup using produce donated from Interfaith Neighbor’s Kula Urban Farm. Bowd, whose Salt Hotels includes five luxury and boutique hotels across the northeast, had closed Asbury Lanes at the beginning of last week and reduced capacity at The Asbury and added increased safety and sanitation protocols.

“We are making soups and together with iStar, Salt Hotels, The Asbury, Asbury Lanes, and Asbury Ocean Club Hotel and Residences, we will be donating on an ongoing basis to AP Dinner Table,” Bowd said. “Our hearts go out to everyone during this extremely challenging time and we are proud to be part of this community and the excellent work so many people are doing to help.” 

On Thursday, AP Dinner table distributed 200 meals in three locations – Second Baptist Church, located at 124 Atkins Ave; St Stephens AME Zion, located at 1001 Springwood Ave; and United Fellowship Baptist Church, located at 603 Third Ave. Their guidelines are simple – one person per family can pick up the meals between 5:30 and 6:30 pm daily, and each family will get up to four pre-packaged meals. 

The next day, the meal distribution rose to 500 and Ocenport’s elderly care and social service organization Beacon of Life signed on as an angel donor and the Boys & Girls Club of Monmouth County’s local site on Monroe Avenue signed on as a distribution hub. The facility closed its doors on March 17. By Saturday, AP Dinner Table was readying for a 750 meal distribution and added MOGO’s Commercial Kitchen – Asbury Park Food Collective, located at 906 Sewall Ave as a fifth distribution site. 

“The COVID-19 crisis sparked this but, if donations keep coming, this can be a sustained collaboration moving forward,” Grillo said. “From the local restaurants making the food to the local pastors distributing it, to the hundreds of small and big donors giving what they can…this is what Asbury Park is all about – we step up and support one another.”

AP Dinner Table continues 5:30 to 6:30 pm Sunday at the three church locations. For more information, click here. To donate, visit paypal.me/APDinnerTable.

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This article originally appeared on the Asbury Park Sun’s website.