Montgomery board approves student food‑insecurity assessment after presentation and public comment

Adrija Gaudemsette, a Montgomery resident and public‑health major, presented a community food‑security assessment to the Montgomery Township Board of Health and the board voted to include the report in the health department’s reaccreditation plans.

Gaudemsette told the board she interviewed local stakeholders and compiled a list of resources and barriers. She described three core local resources: the Montgomery Food Bank at the Princeton Elks Lodge (run by volunteer Ellen Robbins, serving roughly 44 families with perishables and nonperishables by appointment), the Montgomery Food Pantry at the Otto Kauffman Community Center (serving roughly 40 families with nonperishables and ShopRite gift cards; managed about 10 hours/week by a township employee, Denise Crowley), and a small drive‑up pantry at Montgomery Evangelical Free Church (about 10 cars a week). "Food insecurity is when a family doesn't have consistent access to reliable and healthy food," Gaudemsette said. She listed recurring barriers identified in interviews: transportation, stigma, limited and inconsistent hours, lack of centralized information, mental‑health challenges, limited paid staffing and space, documentation requirements, and language or digital‑literacy gaps.

Gaudemsette highlighted trends and local data she compiled, including figures shown in her slides for free and reduced lunch in local schools rising from 216 in 2023 to 364 in 2024. "If you get anything out of this presentation, it's probably the statistic," she said, adding that the increase signals either a higher proportion of students in need or a population increase that raises absolute need. She and board members noted that some of her source numbers came from interviews with pantry operators and that the school and pantry datasets were not integrated.

During public comment, Ellen Robbins, founder of the Elks pantry, disputed parts of the slide data. "Those numbers are wrong," Robbins said, asserting from her experience that she believes about 440 students are currently on free and reduced lunch; she said she would not disclose her source and that the board of education resists publicizing some statistics. Robbins described the Elks pantry’s evening and weekend hours, delivery service and relationship with teachers and said the township needs both a municipal pantry and a private pantry to meet diverse needs.

Board members and staff discussed data gaps, privacy constraints and options for better coordination: whether to expand pantry hours, pilot weekend backpack programs for students, increase official township communication to reduce confusion about overlapping services, and explore paid staffing to reduce reliance on volunteers. Emily (public health planner) calculated that Montgomery is “almost 8%” on the metric used to determine when a school is required to offer breakfast (state threshold is 10% for breakfast, 5% for lunch), noting the township is just below the breakfast mandate but could reach it if current trends continue.

After discussion, Doctor Prathy moved and the Chair seconded a motion to approve inclusion of the assessment in the health department’s reaccreditation plans. A roll‑call vote recorded "Yes" from Doctor Grayson, Doctor McGeary, Doctor Mohan, Mr. Surty (Shruti), Doctor Prati and Doctor Saraya; the motion passed.

Votes at a glance: the board approved (1) the food‑insecurity assessment for inclusion in the reaccreditation plans; (2) the consent agenda covering the health department monthly report (January 2025), the communicable disease and animal control reports and minutes from 01/08/2025; and (3) a resolution endorsing the public‑health reaccreditation process. Each passed by voice or roll call as recorded in the meeting.

The board’s next steps include incorporating the assessment data into the department’s reaccreditation submission and pursuing improved coordination with schools and pantry operators; staff also noted plans to follow up on potential pilot programs and to track the school‑breakfast threshold going forward. The meeting adjourned at about 9:18 p.m.