By Christina Leslie | Staff Writer

A partnership of nine Ocean County faith communities, including St. Pius X Parish, Forked River, is helping a special group of children feel a little less hungry this summer. “Lacey’s Kids,” a summertime free lunch program, has been aiding scores of Lacey Township families with the delivery of healthy mid-day meals to their homes.

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Though many township students qualify for free and subsidized lunches during the school year, this needed nutritional boost is suspended when schools are shuttered for the summer. Rev. Linda Applegate, pastor of Forked River’s Lacey United Methodist Church, urged school administrators to contact the families of children who relied upon the meals to see if they would like to be included in the pilot program. About 25 families with a total of 80 children applied to receive nutritious meals each weekday for the 10 weeks of school summer vacation.

Reactivating a township-wide network of churches born after Hurricane Sandy, the “Lacey’s Kids” program began the week of June 23. Parishioners of nine Christian houses of worship, including Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Presbyterian and other denominations each volunteer a week of their time to share the burden of love.

Donations of food from area vendors such as ShopRite, WalMart, 7-11 and McDonald’s are assembled by volunteer kitchen crews into lunches consisting of a sandwich or salad, a vegetable and milk. Other volunteers drive the lunches along four routes within Lacey Township, which includes the towns of Lanoka Harbor, Bamber Lakes and Forked River, delivering the meals to the children’s homes.

St. Pius X Parish business manager, Ann Brennan, recounted the joyful reactions she has seen from meal recipients. “Several parents have stopped here to tell us how much this program has meant to their families,” she said. “They have had to depend upon the food pantries in the summer, but this is wonderful that the food comes to them.”

The roughly 30 workers of all ages also reap rewards for their efforts. “It is a work of love,” Brennan said, noting the smiles she’s seen on the faces of those assembling and transporting the much-needed lunches. “The message is going out, we are evangelizing on the side.

“There is talk about [continuing the project] next year,” she continued. “The thought is that it will be bigger as word gets around.” Parents, initially wary to become involved in the new project, will change their minds, Brennan thought. “It was a big success and now they should feel good about participating.”

Ann and Warren Chanik, parishioners of St. Pius X, worked on two Lacey Township-area routes in late July. Ann Chanik expressed the couple’s delight as they delivered the lunches. “It was the most rewarding experience I have ever had,” she said resolutely. “Everyone was extremely appreciative, the children came down the driveways to meet [our cars] with big smiles on their faces. The parents were ecstatic that the program would last all summer.”