Helping Others This Thanksgiving Holiday in Ocean County

Working in partnership with the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, the Culinary Arts programs received all of the supplies and ingredients for the traditional Thanksgiving menu - roast turkey with gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and green bean casserole. Additional supplies were made possible through donations and a grant from the Ocean County Foundation for Vocational Technical Education.

It's almost Thanksgiving and for many a time for dinner with friends and family, but for some it's not the case. No matter what the circumstances are it's nice to see that some will be able to enjoy Thanksgiving thanks to the folks at Ocean County Vocational Technical School. Students and Teachers at the Brick location have been putting together thousands of dinners with all the trimmings. The students, led by Chef Instructors Gary Lesniak, Kevin Musto, Bruce Van Sickle, RoseAnn Delnero, Jill Geraghty-Scott and Joe Jakositz, have been prepping for the past few weeks to cook and package the meals this week.....the meals will be distributed Wednesday through various local agencies to those in need. In addition, The OCVTS Pastry Arts Program, led by instructor Chef Dennis Melia, will prepare approximately 600 pies and thousands of holiday cookies!

OCVTS provided some statistics showing what it takes to make 3,000 meals ......

• 475 turkeys
• 750 lbs. of potatoes
• 250 lbs. of green beans
• 320 lbs. of stuffing mix
• 75 gallons of gravy

We applaud your efforts and thanks for helping so many here in Ocean County enjoy a delicious meal, truly inspiring and honored to be affiliated with this organization all these years ..... well done OCVTS and Happy Thanksgiving!