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Field of Dreams leaders thank Ocean County for ARPA support for inclusive recreation
Summary
Toms River Field of Dreams leaders told the county board that ARPA-funded improvements helped expand inclusive programming, including an aquaponics greenhouse and shade structures, boosting registrations and attendance among people with disabilities.
TOMS RIVER — Christian Kane, co-founder of the Toms River Field of Dreams, thanked the Ocean County Board of Commissioners on July 2 for county grants and for webbing the nonprofit into the county's inclusive recreation initiative.
Kane told the board that Field of Dreams used county American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to build two projects: a 12-by-30-foot aquaponics/greenhouse system housing roughly 200 tilapia and 24 grow beds, and shade structures over play areas. He said adults with special needs operate the greenhouse — planting, harvesting and packaging produce that the organization distributed, and that the program donated almost 3,000 pounds of fresh produce to the People’s Pantry in Toms River last year.
Kane said registrations and participation have grown substantially since Field of Dreams’ 2022 grand opening. “We thought we’d help 200 to 300 families,” he said, and gave the board the organizers’ current figure of 3,512 registered members who live with a disability and a reported 10,000 visits during last year’s programming. Kane credited county staff and the county’s Parks Department for partnering on the project.
Jamie S. Busch, Director of Human Services, introduced Kane and described the county-level inclusive-recreation effort as a partnership among parks, nonprofits and municipal programs. Commissioner Virginia E. Haines and others on the board praised the site’s quiet, calming areas and new shade, which Kane said allows visitors to stay longer (he referenced a 27% increase in dwell time where shade was added) and may help sustain attendance through hotter months.
The board did not vote on any action tied directly to the presentation. Director John P. Kelly, who led the meeting, thanked Kane and said the county valued the partnership.
Kane asked board members to let him know if the Field of Dreams could recognize county officials or hold other demonstrations of the program; he also said he would return usage data once the county-funded shading project’s July–August statistics were available.
